Who Won the 2026 F1 Championship? Kimi Antonelli Clinches Title in Mexico at 20, Becoming F1’s Youngest-Ever World Champion
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 F1 title in Mexico with four races left. At 20 he is the youngest champion ever and Italy’s first since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Photo: ProtoplasmaKid / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes won the 2026 Formula 1 world championship. He sealed the title by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, 1 November 2026 (early Monday in India), which left him 119 points clear of Max Verstappen with only 100 points still available. Born on 25 August 2006, he became champion at 20 years and 68 days, the youngest in F1 history, and the first Italian driver to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Verstappen won the race for Red Bull, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, but the result could not stop Antonelli. Four rounds remain: São Paulo on 8 November, then Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
F1 2026 drivers’ standings after Mexico
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 380 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 261 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 259 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 250 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 245 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 221 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 150 |
The real fight now is for second place, where Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc are separated by just 16 points. In the constructors’ table, Mercedes lead Ferrari, with Red Bull and McLaren fighting for third, and the team title is not yet mathematically settled.
How the title was decided in Mexico
The race was interrupted on lap 46 when Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac suffered a front-left suspension failure and hit the barrier. Bottas was reported to be unhurt, but the damage brought out the red flag. The race restarted with 25 laps to go in the order Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli. Antonelli did not need to win; bringing the car home on the podium was enough to put the championship beyond reach.
Youngest F1 world champions
| Driver | Season | Age when title was won |
|---|---|---|
| Kimi Antonelli | 2026 | 20 years, 68 days |
| Sebastian Vettel | 2010 | 23 years, 134 days |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2008 | 23 years, 300 days |
| Fernando Alonso | 2005 | 24 years, 58 days |
| Max Verstappen | 2021 | 24 years, 73 days |
Antonelli broke Vettel’s record by more than three years. He made his F1 debut only in 2025, at the Australian Grand Prix, after being picked by Mercedes to replace Hamilton when the seven-time champion moved to Ferrari. Earlier in 2026 he had already become the youngest driver ever to lead the championship, after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Who is Kimi Antonelli?
Antonelli was born in Bologna, Italy, and came through the Mercedes junior programme. He raced for Prema in Italian and German F4, then Formula Regional and Formula 2, before testing for Mercedes in 2024. His father, Marco Antonelli, runs a racing team in Italy. Mercedes have already confirmed him for 2027.
It is also a big result for Mercedes in the first season of F1’s new engine and chassis rules, which came into force in 2026.
When is the next F1 race and how to watch in India?
The São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos is on Sunday, 8 November. Check F1 TV or the official F1 broadcaster in India for live coverage. Race start times in IST shift with time zones; for how the recent clock changes in the US and Europe affect Indian viewing times, see our guide to daylight saving and the India time difference.
For more sport, read how India line up for the New Zealand ODIs, starting 4 November.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2026 F1 championship?
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes. He clinched the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November 2026 with four races still to go.
Is Kimi Antonelli the youngest F1 champion?
Yes. He won the title at 20 years and 68 days, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record of 23 years and 134 days set in 2010.
How old is Kimi Antonelli?
He was born on 25 August 2006 in Bologna, Italy, so he is 20.
Who won the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix?
Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).
When was the last time an Italian won the F1 world championship?
Before Antonelli, the last Italian champion was Alberto Ascari, who won in 1952 and 1953.
