Kimi Antonelli has made Formula 1 history, becoming the youngest driver to win the world championship after finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
At 20 years and 68 days, the Italian secured his maiden title behind race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who finished second.
It was a tense afternoon on the track, with a red flag interruption leaving drivers to fight it out over a 25-lap sprint to the finish. Antonelli kept his composure while the battle behind him became increasingly heated.
In the closing laps, Hamilton tried to get close enough to challenge Verstappen after the two made contact at the first chicane following the restart. But the Ferrari driver could not find a way past and had to settle for second.
There was also tension within Ferrari, where Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc clashed in a battle that left the seven-time world champion frustrated. Hamilton felt a chance of victory had slipped away following Leclerc’s aggressive move on the opening lap.
For Antonelli, however, the result marked a moment he will remember for the rest of his life.
He broke Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest Formula 1 world champion by three years and 66 days. Vettel was 23 years and 134 days old when he won his first title in 2010.
Antonelli also ended Italy’s long wait for a world champion, becoming the first Italian to claim the drivers’ title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
The emotion caught up with him on the slowing-down lap. When his team confirmed the achievement over the radio, Antonelli struggled to speak, with tears and laughter taking over.
