Kimi Antonelli became Formula One’s youngest world champion as he drove his Mercedes to a 16th podium finish at the Mexico Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Italian driver finished in third place behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
“I’m still trying to realise and understand what just happened, when you work so hard and then you finally achieve it is truly special,” Antonelli said.
The Italian driver was joined by his parents and younger sister. “All the emotions come, to be able to witness this moment with my family is a moment I will always remember”.
Antonelli is the first Italian to win the world champion title since Alberto Ascari in 1953. At just 20 years old, he became the youngest-ever world champion, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s previous record, set when he won the title aged 23 in 2010.
“It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And looking forward to some more battles in the future,” Antonelli said.
The Mercedes driver secured the title despite a difficult start to the race weekend, as Antonelli fell ill ahead of the race weekend and was forced to miss Thursday’s media day.
Verstappen claims sixth victory at Mexico City GP
Meanwhile, four-time world champion Max Verstappen claimed his sixth victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“The ‘Max-ico’ Grand Prix will be a great name to call it,” Verstappen said. “To be honest I love the city and the fans, but I have no idea why I have won it six years, it just happened. It always comes together for me here”.
Lewis Hamilton, who had secured pole position on Saturday, lost his position while battling for the lead with his teammate Charles Leclerc on the fourth lap.
“I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn’t meant to be and we’ll take it offline and figure out what we can do in the background,” said a visibly irritated Hamilton.
“We have to hold some serious talks behind the scenes.”
Leclerc finished fourth while McLaren’s outgoing world champion Lando Norris came in fifth position. Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell, finished sixth.
After this weekend’s race, F1 will travel to Brazil before heading to Las Vegas. The final races of the season are scheduled to take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, although it remains unclear whether both will go ahead as planned amid ongoing regional instability.