Kimi Antonelli is the 2026 Formula 1 world champion. Third place in Mexico was enough: with four races left, his lead was bigger than the points anyone else could still score.
\nAntonelli was 20 years and 68 days old on the day he clinched it. The record he takes belonged to Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won the 2010 title in Abu Dhabi. No champion in the sport's history has been within three years of him.
\nAfter Mexico, Antonelli has 380 points. Max Verstappen is second on 261, 119 behind. Four Grands Prix are left, São Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and none of them is a sprint weekend, so at most 100 points are still on offer. Even four wins in a row for Verstappen would leave him short.
\nThe title was built in spring. From China to Monaco, Antonelli won five races in a row. Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United States followed later in the year.
\nThe number that matters most may be this one. Antonelli has finished on the podium 16 times in 19 races. On the days he couldn't win, like Mexico, he still brought home big points, and that is what made the gap impossible to close long before the finale.
\nThe podium that settled it was a rare one. Max Verstappen won in Mexico, Lewis Hamilton was second and Antonelli third: seven titles for Hamilton, four for Verstappen and now one for Antonelli. Mercedes summed it up in a single line on Instagram: twelve F1 titles in one picture. In it, the two older champions lift the new one up between them. Between them, the three have won 189 Grands Prix, and Hamilton, at 41, is more than twice the new champion's age.
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Open in InstagramA year ago Antonelli was a rookie: seventh in the 2025 championship with 150 points and no wins. Twelve months on he has beaten everyone, his own teammate George Russell included, who is fourth on 250.
\nThe full season is on his driver profile, and the championship table shows how the rest of the top five line up for the last four races. Next stop: the São Paulo Grand Prix.
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