Kimi Antonelli becomes Formula 1's youngest world champion at 20
Third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix sealed the title for the Mercedes driver, with Max Verstappen winning the race and Lewis Hamilton second.
Kimi Antonelli is Formula 1 world champion. The Italian finished third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, enough to clinch the title with several races left, and at 20 years and 68 days he is the youngest champion the sport has had.
He takes the record from Sebastian Vettel by three years and 66 days, BBC Sport reported. Antonelli is also the first Italian to win the drivers' title since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and he has done it in only his second season.
He needed no more than ninth place on the day. Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, his sixth victory in Mexico City, and Lewis Hamilton was second for Ferrari after starting from pole, his first for the team. The race was stopped by a red flag for barrier repairs and ended with a late restart, and less than two seconds covered the top three at the line.
George Russell, Antonelli's team-mate at Mercedes, finished sixth and has dropped to fourth in the standings. Reigning champion Lando Norris was among those to praise Antonelli afterwards, and Verstappen and Hamilton lifted him onto their shoulders on the podium.
The result moves Verstappen up to second in the championship, two points ahead of Hamilton. The next round is the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, from 6 to 8 November.
