Italian driver Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history after finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November, wrapping up the 2026 drivers’ title with four rounds left.

Antonelli, who races for Mercedes, was 20 years and 68 days old when he sealed the championship. The previous record belonged to Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won the 2010 title.

Max Verstappen won the race, with Lewis Hamilton second. Antonelli, who needed only a ninth-place finish to clinch the title, crossed the line 4.006 seconds behind Verstappen.

The result leaves him 119 points ahead of Verstappen, who moved up to second in the standings, ESPN reported.

Antonelli is the first Italian to win the drivers’ championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and the third Italian champion overall. He is also only the fourth driver to take the title in his second Formula 1 season.

Born in Bologna on 25 August 2006, he is the first drivers’ champion born in the 21st century. He joined the Mercedes junior team at the age of 12 and made his Formula 1 debut with the team in 2025.

He has won nine of the 19 races held so far this season, the most wins by an Italian driver in a single season. Earlier in the year he became the youngest driver to lead the championship, after the Japanese Grand Prix, and the youngest pole sitter, at the Chinese Grand Prix, Australia’s ABC News reported.

“A day I will remember forever. So grateful, thank you so much,” Antonelli said after the race, according to ESPN.

“I would not be here without Mercedes or my family,” he said.

Teammate George Russell, who finished sixth in Mexico City after a 10-second penalty, spoke about Antonelli’s season before the race weekend.

“The truth is he’s been at a higher level than me this year,” Russell told reporters, NBC News reported.

The season continues with the São Paulo Grand Prix.