Antonelli: I couldn't see through my tears on title-clinching lap — SkimNews
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- Kimi Antonelli finished third behind race-winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand Prix to seal the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship at 20 years and 68 days old, lowering Sebastian Vettel’s previous youngest-champion record by more than three years.
- Kimi Antonelli said he was already crying on the lap before the finish, losing probably two seconds and unable to see clearly ahead.
- Kimi Antonelli became the third Italian F1 Drivers’ Champion and the first since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
- Kimi Antonelli said Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton lifted him onto the podium as “Nessun Dorma” and “Sarà, perché ti amo” played, with the first song recalling his late grandfather.
- Kimi Antonelli said he will frame the podium photograph with Verstappen and Hamilton at home, after replacing Hamilton at Mercedes following the latter’s 2025 move to Ferrari.
- Kimi Antonelli said Mercedes believed in him from age 11, while his father Marco Antonelli flew to Mexico on Saturday morning with his sister and attended nearly every race that year despite work commitments.
Why it matters: At 20 years and 68 days, Kimi Antonelli took the 2026 title more than three years below Sebastian Vettel’s former record, giving F1 a new youngest-champion benchmark. He also became Italy’s third champion and its first since Alberto Ascari in 1953, while Mercedes can now count Kimi Antonelli as a Formula 1 world champion.
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