Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli finished third at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix on Nov. 1, clinching the 2026 drivers' championship with two races to spare. At 20 years and 68 days old, he becomes the youngest world champion in F1 history. The previous record was held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the title in 2010. Kimi is also the first Italian driver to win the F1 world championship in 73 years, since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
The Mexico City Grand Prix on Nov. 1 was full of drama. Red Bull's Max Verstappen started from fifth and moved up to second on the opening lap amid Ferrari infighting — teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton battled fiercely at the first corner, with Leclerc cutting across the grass to take the lead before receiving a five-second penalty. Hamilton complained over the radio that the stewards were effectively handing the win to Leclerc. Verstappen overtook Leclerc during the pit window to take control of the race, eventually claiming his third win of the season and the 74th of his career, crossing the line 0.799 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who started from pole and finished second.
Kimi only needed to finish in the top nine to seal the title. Midway through the race, Valtteri Bottas suffered a front suspension failure and crashed heavily into the wall, bringing out the red flag and suspending the race for 33 minutes. After the restart, Kimi passed Leclerc at the standing start to move into third and held the position to the finish, extending his championship lead to an unassailable 119 points.
Notably, Mercedes teammate George Russell needed to win to keep his title hopes alive, but he collided with Isack Hadjar on the opening lap, received a 10-second penalty, and finished only sixth, dropping out of championship contention. Defending champion Lando Norris finished fifth.
At the finish line, Kimi was moved to tears over the team radio, thanking everyone and saying he would not be standing there without Mercedes and his family. His parents and sister embraced him beside the car before he was surrounded by the pit crew. On the podium, draped in the Italian flag, he said he was lost for words and still processing what had just happened, calling it an incredible season.
After this round, Verstappen moves up to second in the drivers' standings, with Hamilton third and the previously favoured Russell dropping to fourth. In the constructors' standings, Mercedes leads Ferrari 630 to 504 and could seal the teams' title at next weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix. F1 next heads to Brazil.
(Video source: F1)
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