Antonelli Becomes Youngest F1 Champion Ever at Chaotic Mexico City

Antonelli Becomes Youngest F1 Champion Ever at Chaotic Mexico City

It's official. Kimi Antonelli has done it. The Mercedes driver became Formula 1's youngest-ever world champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, smashing Sebastian Vettel's record by nearly three years. Antonelli was only 20 years old when he sealed the deal with a podium finish, and he did it with four races still to go. All he needed was a top-nine result, but the lad went and grabbed P3 in one of the most dramatic races Mexico City's seen in ages.

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Max Verstappen took the win for Red Bull, his third in four races, while Lewis Hamilton finished second in what turned out to be a right mess. Lewis had grabbed pole position for Ferrari, but Charles Leclerc came charging into turn four and forced both red machines off track. Leclerc muscled his way back to the front, but the stewards handed him a five-second penalty for the whole thing, which bumped Verstappen up into the lead. Then Valtteri Bottas slammed into the wall, triggering a red flag and giving everyone a breather.

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On the restart, Hamilton made a proper move on Leclerc and had a crack at Verstappen around the first chicane, but slight contact ended that dream. Antonelli was patient and picked off Leclerc, who'd absolutely ruined his tyres with a massive lockup, to secure third. Leclerc held off Lando Norris for fourth, while George Russell finished sixth after receiving a 10-second penalty for spinning Isack Hadjar on lap one. Oscar Piastri recovered to seventh after his qualifying disaster.

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There was drama everywhere you looked. Franco Colapinto secured points for Alpine in eighth, but it was Liam Lawson who grabbed the real headlines with ninth place. Lawson started from the pits after getting excluded from qualifying for a technical breach but absolutely sent it in the closing stages to overtake Pierre Gasly. Oscar Piastri's late collision with Arvid Lindblad ended the Racing Bulls driver's race and brought out the safety car. Just another mad Sunday at the races for the 2026 season.

Shop the collection: Max Verstappen merch  •  Lando Norris merch  •  Oscar Piastri merch  •  Charles Leclerc merch  •  Lewis Hamilton merch  •  George Russell merch  •  Kimi Antonelli merch  •  Sebastian Vettel merch  •  Scuderia Ferrari merch  •  Red Bull Racing merch  •  Mercedes-AMG merch  •  VCARB merch  •  McLaren merch

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