Kimi Antonelli crowned 2026 F1 champion at Mexico City GP, youngest ever at 20

Title clinched in Mexico City

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Formula 1 world championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, 1 November, finishing third with four races still to run. At 20 years and 68 days, he is the youngest world champion in the sport's history. In the celebrations that followed, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton hoisted him onto their shoulders. George Russell, his Mercedes team-mate, finished sixth, did not speak to the media and left the circuit straight after the finish. The result also moved Verstappen into second place in the drivers' standings for the first time this season.

A season that turned on Russell's form

Russell started the year as the favourite after Mercedes arrived in Australia with the strongest car. He took pole there and won the opener after retaking the lead from Charles Leclerc, who had passed him at the start. In China he took pole and won the sprint, but a broken front wing in Q2 and a brief stop at turn 5 during Q3 left him second on the grid behind Antonelli, who took his first pole position and went on to win the race.

Antonelli then strung together five consecutive wins, and he now has nine race wins to Russell's three, a 130-point gap in the championship.

Kimi Antonelli9

George Russell3

Kimi Antonelli

9 wins

George Russell

3 wins

Data from the article text

Antonelli acknowledged that Russell had suffered more misfortune. He cited the qualifying problem in China, battery pack trouble that dropped Russell from second to fifth at the start in Mexico, and a power unit problem that forced Mercedes to scrap a new unit after Silverstone. Antonelli said he also lost a likely win at Silverstone and a secure second place at Barcelona for reasons outside his control, and took a penalty at Monza.

Rivals and reactions

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said last week that Antonelli shares the same single-minded drive as Verstappen.

“He's got all that Max has got: he wants to win and will win no matter what.”

Verstappen had at one point been in danger of dropping out of the top 10 in the drivers' standings, and he now looks likely to hold second place through the final four grands prix. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, criticised how Ferrari manages its young drivers after the Mexico race. He said that approach should be reviewed and questioned why Ferrari had not given Ollie Bearman more opportunities. Wolff also said few drivers had reached Antonelli's level so early in their careers.

Brazil and the Senna connection

Antonelli travelled to São Paulo ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Before the race he visited Ayrton Senna's family and posted a photo on Instagram of himself beside the black and gold Lotus that Senna drove in the mid-1980s. He had also revisited Senna's grave, as he did in 2025. Antonelli will keep the number 12 that Senna used before his first title, and he will wear a special helmet marking 35 years since Senna's first home win in 1991. At a press conference hosted by sponsor Petronas, he said:

“I love Brazil. The support is incredible, the passion for Formula 1 is extraordinary and the circuit is also very beautiful.”

He added that winning a title on the Interlagos circuit would be incredible, because Senna is his hero. The Brazilian Grand Prix is one of the four races left in the season.