Antonelli seals Formula One title in Mexico as youngest world champion

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula One history on Sunday, securing the title with third place for Mercedes at the Mexico City Grand Prix. At 20 years and 68 days old, the Italian established an unbeatable 119-point championship lead as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed his second victory of the season.

Antonelli cried over the radio as he crossed the finish line at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, announced the achievement, and his parents and sister embraced him after he climbed out of the car before the Mercedes crew surrounded him. Draped in an Italian flag on the podium, he celebrated alongside Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who finished a close second.

The result made Antonelli Italy’s first Formula One champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, ending a 73-year wait. He also surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s age record. The German was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the first of his four championships with Red Bull in 2010. Antonelli said he was struggling to absorb the achievement and had felt extra tension during the weekend. He later explained that emotion had obscured his view of the circuit on the final lap, prompting him to ease his pace.

The championship was settled in a race interrupted by crashes, two safety car periods and a 33-minute stoppage. On lap 46 of 71, Valtteri Bottas suffered a high-speed failure of his Cadillac’s front-left suspension on the straight, sending the car into the barriers at turn one. After receiving attention inside the car, he walked to an ambulance and gave a thumbs up. He was subsequently released from the medical centre.

Verstappen led after the restart, with Hamilton challenging him and Antonelli moving past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. A collision involving Lindblad and Piastri brought out another safety car, leaving nine laps of racing when the field was released. Leclerc ultimately finished fourth, ahead of McLaren’s outgoing champion Lando Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell.

Hamilton had started from pole for the 105th time in his career and the first time for Ferrari in a full grand prix. His opening battle with Leclerc became contentious when the pair ran alongside each other and Leclerc cut turn four across the grass. Verstappen then took second from Hamilton as the Ferrari ran wide. Leclerc received a five-second penalty but remained ahead of Hamilton after their pit stops on laps 28 and 29.

Russell needed victory to retain any championship chance, but a poor start from the front row dropped him to fifth. He also received a 10-second penalty after a collision that sent Hadjar’s Red Bull off the track. The result lifted Verstappen to second in the drivers’ standings and Hamilton to third, while Russell fell to fourth, 130 points behind Antonelli. Mercedes lead Ferrari by 630 points to 504 in the constructors’ standings and could secure that championship in Brazil the following weekend.