Kimi Antonelli, 20, becomes the youngest Formula 1 world champion after third place in Mexico City

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula 1 world champion on Sunday, 1 November, after finishing third in the Mexico City Grand Prix, per India Today and Hindustan Times. This piece is as of the evening of 2 November.

The title

India Today says the 20-year-old, in his second season, took third place behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton and broke Sebastian Vettel's 16-year-old record. It says he struggled to hold back tears and was heard on team radio saying "We did it!", and that Verstappen and Hamilton lifted him into the air on the podium. The National says he was declared champion with four races left in the 2026 season and that he is the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

The numbers

The outlets differ slightly on the record. The National gives Antonelli's age as 20 years and 68 days against the 23 years and 134 days of Vettel, who won his first title in 2010. Hindustan Times also says Vettel was 23 years and 134 days; India Today says 23 years and 133 days. On the points, Hindustan Times says he arrived in Mexico on 365 points, 123 clear of Mercedes teammate George Russell with 100 points remaining, and that any result in the top nine would make him champion (as Hindustan Times puts it), and finished on 380 points. The National says he needed just two points, and that he took nine grands prix victories this season, five of them in an unbroken run from China to Monaco.

Reaction and background

Hindustan Times quotes Vettel's video message to him, including that nobody had done it as young. India Today says Antonelli thanked Mercedes and his family and said "This is just the beginning". The National says that last season he was an error-prone rookie who finished seventh in the standings. BBC Sport says he turned 20 in August, and says his father describes him as "born in a garage", quoting Marco saying Kimi was in the garage "from 15 days old".