Kimi Antonelli became the youngest-ever Formula 1 world champion at the Mexican Grand Prix. Aged 20 years and 68 days, the Mercedes driver secured the title with a third-place finish. "I'm speechless," said Antonelli after the race. He is the first Italian to win the championship since the year 1953.
Aged 20 years and 68 days, Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion, sealing the title with a podium finish at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Italian Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest ever Formula 1 world champion with a third-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver is also the first Italian to take the title since 1953. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished first while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was second in a race that had been red-flagged and restarted again due to multiple crashes and an agonising 33-minute halt with 25 of the 71 laps remaining.
"I'm speechless. I'm trying to process what has just happened," said Antonelli in comments to the crowd. "It's been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And looking forward to some more battles in the future. This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I'm just so happy that we got it done, and now we can enjoy the rest of the season," he added, with an Italian flag wrapped around his shoulders on the podium
Hamilton had led the way at the start of the race, having clinched his 105th pole and first since becoming a Ferrari driver. His teammate Charles LeClerc was third and the pair battled through the opening corners. Leclerc cut turn four and went across the grass as they battled for the lead, with Verstappen then taking second from Hamilton as the Ferrari looped wide.