Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli was crowned Formula 1 world champion on November 1, 2026, after finishing the Mexican Grand Prix in third place. At 20 years old, the competitor set the record for the youngest champion in the history of the category and ended a 73-year drought without titles for Italy.
The Mexican round was won by Max Verstappen, who resisted pressure in the final laps and crossed the finish line ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who placed second. To secure the trophy without depending on combinations of results involving direct rivals such as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli only needed to finish the race among the top nine.
Starting from fourth on the grid, the driver put on a consistent race amid incidents and penalties applied to competitors. With the result in Mexico, the young driver totals 380 points in the drivers' championship, opening up a 119-point lead over the new runner-up, Verstappen. With 100 points still at stake until the end of the season, the conquest was secured with four rounds to spare, matching the early title records set by Sebastian Vettel in 2012 and Max Verstappen in 2022.
