Kimi Antonelli clinched his maiden Formula 1 world championship Sunday, finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix to become the sport’s youngest-ever titleholder at 20 years old. The Mercedes driver’s result sealed the crown with one race still remaining on the 2026 calendar.
Antonelli moved past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during the race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to secure the top-nine finish he needed, according to ESPN. Max Verstappen led the race with Lewis Hamilton second, but neither result could stop Antonelli from locking up the championship with a round to spare.
How Antonelli Clinched The Title In Mexico City
Antonelli entered the Mexico City weekend needing just two points, the equivalent of a single ninth-place finish, to be mathematically assured of the championship, according to Sky Sports. He delivered far more than the minimum, crossing the line third after passing Leclerc during the race.
The result came one week after Antonelli won at Austin, a victory that followed back-to-back wins for Verstappen in the two races prior, according to Sky Sports. That Austin win effectively set up the coronation in Mexico.
Records Antonelli Set As F1’s Youngest Champion
At 20, Antonelli becomes the Kimi Antonelli youngest F1 champion in history, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s previous record by three years, according to Sky Sports. He also becomes the 36th world champion in Formula 1 history, according to The Race.
Antonelli sealed his title with 82.6% of the season completed after 19 rounds, making him just the third driver in the last 30 years to clinch a first championship before the final round, joining Fernando Alonso’s 2005 title and Jenson Button’s 2009 crown, according to The Race. Of the 36 champions in F1 history, 20 needed a final-race decider to be confirmed, a group Antonelli avoided.
His title did not come as early in the season as some historic champions. Nigel Mansell wrapped up his 1992 title with 68.8% of the season run, Jim Clark did it at 70% in 1963 and Jackie Stewart clinched at 72.5% in 1969, according to The Race.
From Hiding In Tires To Mercedes Champion
Antonelli’s path to the title traces back to 2014, when as a 7-year-old he hid inside a stack of tires to sneak into the F1 paddock at the German Grand Prix, a support race involving his father Marco’s sportscar team. “I don’t even know how I fit inside the tire, but it was really tight. Plus, we put an umbrella on top so it wouldn’t look, you know, suspicious or anything,” Antonelli said, according to FOX Sports. Antonelli was born in 2006 and named by a family friend inspired by Kimi Raikkonen, though not as a direct reference to the former champion, according to FOX Sports.
He joined Mercedes as Hamilton’s replacement after the seven-time champion departed for Ferrari. His first F1 practice outing came at Monza in 2024 and ended with a crash into the barrier, according to FOX Sports. His race debut at 18 brought early struggles in European rounds, and during his 2025 rookie season he went nine races without scoring points, prompting some to say he should not be driving for Mercedes, according to Sky Sports.
The low point came at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, where Antonelli was eliminated in Q1 and was seen in tears in parc ferme, according to Sky Sports. “I let the pressure kind of destroy me as well during that period, because I felt like I was letting down so many people who had believed in me,” Antonelli said, according to FOX Sports. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had repeatedly described his driving during that stretch as underwhelming.
What The Title Means For Mercedes And The Field
Major regulation changes introduced this year reset competitive order across the grid, opening the door for a new generation of contenders, according to FOX Sports. Wolff pointed to the new 2026 cars as a factor in Antonelli’s turnaround. “I don’t know what happened over the winter,” Antonelli said of his own transformation, according to Sky Sports.
Wolff also tied Antonelli’s low-grip driving style to the new car characteristics, comparing him to championship rival Lando Norris of McLaren. “With how things have fallen this year, it’s kind of the perfect driving style for these cars. (Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris) are two drivers who are always very strong on the low-grip tracks and they’re two drivers who are arguably the best-performing drivers of this season,” Wolff said, according to Sky Sports.
Wolff called the full arc from Antonelli’s 2025 struggles to this title “extremely satisfying.” “The many people that said last year after nine races without points, he shouldn’t be in a Mercedes. People in other teams that said, he shouldn’t even be in Formula 1, the tears in Spa, in parc ferme. And all of that now is extremely satisfying to see what he’s able to deliver, how he’s working with the team, with Bono and yielding the results,” Wolff said, according to Sky Sports.
The Race noted that Antonelli’s championship run looked at times like a walkover compared with other first-time title fights, aided by Mercedes’ overall competitiveness this season. Teammate George Russell’s performances in the second Mercedes suggested the season could have unfolded differently without Antonelli behind the wheel, according to The Race. Russell and Hamilton would have needed to win every remaining race to keep mathematical title hopes alive heading into Mexico City, according to Sky Sports.
What’s Next
Formula 1’s 2026 season concludes with one race remaining after Mexico City. Antonelli heads into that finale as the confirmed champion, with the result in Mexico already decided regardless of the outcome.
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