Antonelli Within Reach of Youngest F1 Title as Mexico Race Nears
Kimi Antonelli can become Formula One's youngest world champion with a ninth-place finish at Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, 20, starts the Mexico City Grand Prix from fourth place with four races remaining in the 2026 season. He could clinch his first world title without scoring points, provided neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton wins the race.
If he wins the championship, Antonelli would break Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest Formula One world champion. Vettel was 23 years and 134 days old when he won his first title with Red Bull in 2010. Antonelli, born on August 25, 2006, would also be the first champion born in the 21st century.
He would become the first Italian to win the championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and the first Italian to do so while driving for a team based outside Italy. A title would also give Mercedes its first drivers' championship since Hamilton's triumph in 2020, and would make Antonelli the second driver to win the title in his second season, after Hamilton and Jacques Villeneuve.