At 20 years and 68 days old, Kimi Antonelli crossed the finish line in Mexico City with a Formula 1 world title and a place in the record books. He finished third in a race won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but the result was enough to make the Italian the youngest champion in the sport’s history.
Antonelli’s title came with several races still to go in a season he has taken by storm. Before the Grand Prix, his path to the championship was clear: he needed only to avoid trouble unless George Russell or Lewis Hamilton won. Even then, Antonelli could finish as low as ninth if Russell won, or 10th if Hamilton took the race.
He did more than survive. Antonelli ran steadily in fourth during the opening part of the race, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton. He moved into the lead while those drivers made pit stops, then stopped for fresh tyres a lap before a safety car. That timing stretched his final stint, but he stayed composed through a race that brought two stoppages and a string of tense battles.
The first interruption followed a crash by Valtteri Bottas on lap 45. The front suspension on his Cadillac failed under braking for Turn One, and the race was stopped so workers could repair the barriers. At the restart, Verstappen and Hamilton fought for the lead while Leclerc locked a wheel. Antonelli passed Leclerc on the next lap.
A second safety car came with 12 laps left, after Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad crashed following contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. When the race restarted with seven laps to go, Antonelli ran behind Verstappen and Hamilton. None could find a way past. The three finished nose to tail, with less than two seconds between them.
The finish capped a day of strain at Ferrari. On the first lap, Leclerc passed Hamilton at a chicane after cutting the corner and driving onto the grass. He kept the lead and received a five-second penalty. Hamilton and Verstappen had both argued over the radio that Leclerc should give the place back. Hamilton later struggled to get close enough to attack Verstappen, and felt a possible victory had slipped away. Leclerc also had to fend off Piastri after his tyre was damaged by a heavy lock-up, but held on.
Verstappen took his third win in four races. Antonelli’s third place, however, rewrote the record: he beat Sebastian Vettel’s mark for youngest champion by three years and 66 days. He also became the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
On the slowing-down lap, Antonelli’s voice broke as his Mercedes team told him he was champion. After a pause, he managed to say, “Thank you so much. We did it. We did it.” A calm drive through a chaotic afternoon had delivered a milestone for Italy and a new age record for Formula 1.