Antonelli becomes youngest F1 world champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, 20, clinched the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix, four rounds before the season ends. Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the race.
Italian Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. He secured the Drivers' Championship by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix, a round of the Formula 1 World Championship, with four rounds still to run. Antonelli is 20 years and 68 days old, and is the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race, his third victory in the last four events. Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari took second, 0.799 seconds behind.
How the race unfolded
Hamilton started from pole position. On the opening lap, he and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc fought for the lead. Leclerc passed him by going across the grass, and Verstappen took advantage to overtake Hamilton. Leclerc received a five-second penalty, and Hamilton complained over the radio about the stewards' decision. The stewards explained that the usual penalty is 10 seconds, but Hamilton had also gone off the track.
The race was stopped when Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily after a suspension failure. At the standing restart, Hamilton attacked Verstappen, the two cars made contact, and Verstappen kept the lead. A Safety Car later followed a crash for Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, caused by a collision with McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Leclerc finished fourth, McLaren's Lando Norris fifth and Mercedes' George Russell sixth. Piastri was given a 10-second penalty for the collision and dropped to 15th. Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly also received penalties. As a result, Haas debutant Ryo Hirakawa, who replaced Esteban Ocon from Saturday, finished tenth and scored a point.
Antonelli's achievement
Antonelli is only the fourth driver to win the title in his second F1 season, after Juan Manuel Fangio, Jacques Villeneuve and Hamilton. He has won nine races this season. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff praised him, while Verstappen said he was very proud of the Mercedes driver.
The next round is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil this weekend.
