Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 world champion after emotional Mexican Grand Prix podium

Kimi Antonelli secured the Formula One world championship by finishing third at the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on 2026-11-02, and was visibly moved to tears while recalling his grandfather.

The 20-year-old became the sport’s youngest world champion, taking the title in only his second year in the sport after a season that included nine wins. Antonelli’s podium finish in Mexico completed his championship campaign and followed a campaign that drew widespread attention from rivals and media alike.

Alone on the front of the podium as Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot played, Antonelli struggled to contain his emotion. "It was very emotional for me because it was a song that my grandfather used to listen to always, so it was very special to hear that," he said before pausing because he was in tears; after composing himself he added, "I think he would be very proud." He also said, "Oh my God, I’ve cried way too much today but it’s good. I just got very emotional because of my grandfather and I was very happy also for him."

Max Verstappen won the race with Lewis Hamilton second and Antonelli third, and Verstappen and Hamilton lifted Antonelli onto their shoulders to receive the crowd’s ovation. "To achieve this in your second year in Formula One is always very impressive," Verstappen said. The report described Verstappen and Hamilton as the four-time and seven-time champions who offered praise.

Hamilton paid tribute to Antonelli’s rise and recalled their earlier connection. "To see a youngster such as Kimi come through from being the little kid standing in the back of the garage, to replacing me at a team that I’ve loved and worked for many, many years and then this year where he’s just been faultless throughout, I think it’s really, really great to see," he said.

Defending champion Lando Norris led tributes from other drivers, praising Antonelli’s season and his performance against experienced rivals. "He’s done an insane job. I feel like people are not giving him enough credit for what he’s achieved this year," Norris said. "He’s beaten the teammate that’s been in the sport for four times longer than him. Who was also very good and who took the battle to Lewis Hamilton. [Yes] 100% he’s made it look like an easy year. They say he’s not had much competition or anything, but that’s because he slapped his competition. I think he’s done an unbelievable job. Incredible, incredible job."

The race also produced intra-team controversy at Ferrari after Charles Leclerc’s opening-lap challenge on Hamilton. Leclerc went off while making the move, gained the place and left Hamilton vulnerable to Verstappen, who passed to take the win and denied Ferrari a possible one-two. Hamilton criticised Leclerc’s approach: "The guy is 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing. It’s like, ‘do or die. Either I win or none of us do’ and it shouldn’t be that," he said. "We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So, it’s a shame to see us lose this, as we did. That will just continue unless action is taken, if a real deep, serious conversation is had. So, it shouldn’t happen moving forward." Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur added: "I still don’t understand how we can lose this race," and said, "I will have a discussion with my guys, but it’s very difficult in terms of respect for us, for the team, for the job done at home by the guys."

Antonelli’s race engineer Peter Bonnington framed the title as the start of a broader journey, saying: "It’s a pleasure to be on the journey with you, but it’s just the first chapter."