TL;DR — the direct answer: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1's youngest-ever world champion on Sunday, 1 November 2026, finishing third in the Mexico City Grand Prix at 20 years and 68 days old. He is also Italy's first champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and he sealed the title with four races still to run.
What happened: Antonelli started fourth at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and, in a red-flagged and restarted race won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, finished third, four seconds behind the winner, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton second. That was far more than he needed: going into the weekend he led the championship by 123 points over teammate George Russell and 124 over Hamilton, so even ninth place would have been enough. On the team radio after the chequered flag, a tearful Antonelli said, in words reported by CNN, “We did it, we did it.” Verstappen and Hamilton then hoisted him into the air on the podium — between them, the three drivers on that podium hold 12 world championships.
Why it's trending: The record is the headline. The previous youngest champion was Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at 23 years and 134 days with Red Bull in 2010. Antonelli beats that by more than three years, and he does it in only his second season in Formula 1, after replacing Hamilton at Mercedes. He has also set records as the youngest driver to lead the championship, to start a race on pole position, and to win the Monaco Grand Prix. His season includes nine wins, including Monaco, Monza and Spa, and a run of five wins in a row, one more race win than Russell has managed in his whole career, according to reports of the weekend.
Background / context: Antonelli, whose full name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, was born on 25 August 2006 in Bologna, and joined the Mercedes development programme as a young karter. His father was a sports-car racer who took him to the track as a young boy. He made his Formula 1 debut at 18 and, despite battling illness and exhaustion in Mexico according to USA Today, held his nerve in an incident-filled race that was stopped on lap 46 after Valtteri Bottas crashed at the first corner. Outgoing champion Lando Norris, who won the title last year by two points from Verstappen, said before the race that Antonelli had made winning look easy and deserved more credit, noting he had beaten a teammate with four or five times his experience. In Italy, the reaction was national: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the win on social media, La Gazzetta dello Sport led with the triumph, and several hundred fans watched a late screening at the Checco Costa Museum at Imola, putting Ferrari allegiance aside to cheer an Italian champion.
What we know / what's unconfirmed: Confirmed: Antonelli's age (20 years and 68 days), his third place in Mexico, Verstappen's win and Hamilton's second, the 119-point unassailable lead reported after the race, Mercedes' 630 points to Ferrari's 504 in the constructors' standings, and that the constructors' title could be clinched in Brazil next weekend. Not a prediction to treat as fact: how many titles Antonelli will eventually win, or whether Mercedes will dominate the remaining races in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Those races are still to be run, and the final two remain, at the time of writing, subject to scheduling uncertainty noted in race coverage.
What happens next: Formula 1 heads to Brazil next, where Mercedes can seal the constructors' championship, then to Las Vegas. For Antonelli, the pressure of the title race is replaced by a different question: can a 20-year-old champion defend a crown, and does his age make a long dominant run more likely, or simply raise expectations faster than any driver can meet them?
Advertisement
Q: How old is Kimi Antonelli?
A: 20 years and 68 days when he won the title in Mexico City on 1 November 2026 — the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.
Q: Who was the previous youngest champion?
A: Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at 23 years and 134 days with Red Bull in 2010.
Q: Who won the Mexico City Grand Prix?
A: Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, his sixth win in Mexico and 74th career win, by 0.799 seconds from Lewis Hamilton, with Antonelli third.
Sources: CNN — Antonelli becomes youngest champion • BusinessWorld — youngest champion at 20
South Africa sealed a 2-1 home Test series win over Australia and moved to second in the World Test Championship, with coach Shukri Conrad urging further improvement.
Australia have rested most frontline Test players for home ODI and T20 series against England, with Mitchell Marsh captaining and young quick Mahli Beardman recalled.
PV Sindhu beat Line Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 and Lakshya Sen beat Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 to give India both singles titles at the HYLO Open 2026 in Saarbrücken.