Kimi Antonelli is already treating the final four races of 2026 as preparation for next year.
Speaking on Thursday’s media day at the São Paulo Grand Prix, the 20-year-old Italian told reporters that the title celebrations had come and gone faster than he wanted.
“It’s a good opportunity for me to, first of all, you know, try to finish the season on a top, but I also feel like that my 2027 preparation starts now.”
Antonelli sealed the drivers’ championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing third behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to wrap up the title with four rounds to spare. He needed only a ninth-place finish to clinch. At 20 years and 68 days, the Mercedes driver became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 mark, and the first Italian to lift the drivers’ crown since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
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The title caps a 2026 campaign of nine race wins, including his home Italian Grand Prix, in only his second year in Formula 1. He is also the fourth driver to secure the championship in his second F1 season.
‘More time to digest what happened’
The pace since Mexico has not left him much room to breathe.
“I would have liked a bit more time to just even digest what happened.”
Instead of a quiet few days off, Antonelli spent the Tuesday after the race at the Senna family estate outside São Paulo with his father Marco, driving karts with Ayrton Senna’s nephew Bruno Senna and other relatives. He later described the afternoon as more emotional than he had expected. Antonelli will race at Interlagos this weekend in a special helmet paying tribute to the Brazilian.
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A photo for the wall
The Mexico City podium itself has stayed with him. Verstappen and Hamilton lifted the new champion onto their shoulders in front of the sold-out crowd at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a gesture from two multiple world champions that Antonelli said he would always be thankful for. He has already framed a photograph of the moment and plans to hang it on the wall at home.
Free practice for the São Paulo Grand Prix begins on Friday at Interlagos, with the race on Sunday.
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