Twenty-year-old Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli clinched his first Formula 1 world championship by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, 1 November 2026, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Antonelli started fourth on the grid and needed only a ninth-place finish or better to secure the title, with four races still remaining in the season.
At 20, he is the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record. Vettel was 23 when he won his first title in 2010 with Red Bull.
Max Verstappen won the race, his sixth victory in Mexico. Lewis Hamilton finished second after taking his 105th career pole position, his first pole with Ferrari.
The race was stopped by a red flag on lap 45 after Valtteri Bottas crashed into the wall when his front-left suspension broke, while barriers were repaired.
Antonelli went into the race battling illness and exhaustion, and had won nine races this season, including five in a row at the start of the season. He made his Formula 1 debut aged 18 and replaced Hamilton at Mercedes.
The featured image is illustrative only and is not a photo of the actual race.
Source: USA Today
