MEXICO CITY – Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has made Formula 1 history by becoming the youngest world champion at the age of 20, by breaking a record that had stood for 16 years.
Antonelli secured the historic achievement at the Mexico City Grand Prix, surpassing former German driver Sebastian Vettel, who won his first world championship aged 23 in 2010.
The Italian driver needed only a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s race to guarantee the title, irrespective of the performances of his closest challengers, Mercedes teammate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli entered the race following an impressive victory at the United States Grand Prix the previous week, where he started from pole position and secured another major result in his championship campaign.
He began the Mexico City race from fourth on the starting grid, while Hamilton secured pole position.
The 20-year-old’s remarkable season also marked a significant turnaround in Mercedes’ driver standings. Russell had initially been regarded as the team’s leading championship contender after opening the campaign with a victory at the Australian Grand Prix.
However, Antonelli gradually established himself as a serious title challenger, collecting nine Grand Prix victories during the season and ultimately securing the championship.
His triumph also makes him the first Italian driver to claim the Formula One world championship since Alberto Ascari achieved the feat in 1953.
The achievement represents a major milestone for Italian motorsport, ending a 73-year wait for another Italian driver to win the sport’s most prestigious individual title.
Meanwhile, Mercedes also had an opportunity to secure the constructors’ championship, which would mark its first team title since 2021.
