Max Verstappen won the race. The day belonged to someone else.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, November 1, and that was all he needed. With 19 of 23 races done, the Mercedes driver leads by 119 points and only 100 remain available, so the 2026 world championship is his.
A record and a long wait ended
At 20, Antonelli is the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. He is also the first Italian to win the title in 73 years, ending a drought that goes back to Alberto Ascari in the early 1950s.
The race
Verstappen took his third win of the season for Red Bull, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. The top ten after the stewards had finished:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
- Isack Hadjar, Red Bull
- Ryo Hirakawa, Haas
Late penalties reshaped the bottom of the points. Oscar Piastri got a 10-second penalty for a collision with Arvid Lindblad and fell from seventh to 16th, while both Alpine drivers, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, were punished for ignoring yellow flags. That moved Hirakawa, making his debut, into the final point.
The standings
- Drivers: Antonelli 380, Verstappen 261, Hamilton 259, Russell 250, Leclerc 245.
- Constructors: Mercedes 630, Ferrari 504, Red Bull 382.
Behind Antonelli, second place is wide open, with just two points between Verstappen and Hamilton and four races left.
From rookie to champion in two seasons
Mercedes made a bold call when it chose Antonelli, then still a teenager, to replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season after Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. Antonelli had raced only one season in Formula 2, skipping the usual extra years in the junior categories. His rookie year had flashes of real speed, including a podium, but also the mistakes you would expect from someone so young.
The previous record for the youngest champion belonged to Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won his first title with Red Bull in 2010. Antonelli has beaten that by roughly three years.
Why 2026 suited Mercedes
This season brought the biggest rule change in Formula 1 for more than a decade. The new power units get roughly half their output from the electric system, up from a much smaller share before, and run on fully sustainable fuel. The cars are also smaller and lighter and use movable aerodynamic parts. Big rule changes often reshuffle the order, as teams that read the new regulations best start with an advantage. Mercedes did exactly that in 2014, the last time the engines changed this much, and began a run of eight straight constructors’ titles.
The grid also looks different. Audi took over the Sauber team this year, which explains Gabriel Bortoleto’s car in the results, and Cadillac joined as an 11th team.
Racing in thin air
The Mexico City circuit sits about 2,200 meters above sea level. The thin air means less downforce from the wings and less cooling for brakes and engines, so teams run their highest-downforce setups and still see cars sliding more than usual. It is one of the toughest races of the year for engineers, and penalties like the ones that reshaped this result are common on a track with tight corners and short run-off areas.
What we think
Clinching with four races to spare is a dominant season by any measure, and doing it at 20 puts Antonelli in rare company. Mercedes’ gamble on promoting him early has paid off far sooner than most people expected. The fight now is for everything behind him: Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc are separated by 16 points, which should keep the last four races worth watching.
