The call came through on the Mercedes radio as Kimi Antonelli crossed the line third at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday.
“Get in there Kimi, champion of the world!” his race engineer Peter Bonnington told him, according to the on-board exchange carried on the world feed.
“We did it! Thank you so much,” Antonelli answered, his voice already breaking.
“Beautiful work, Kimi. It’s a real pleasure being part of the journey with you, mate,” Bonnington replied, before team principal Toto Wolff cut in on the same channel: “Kimi we did it, world champion, we did it.”
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On the slow-down lap, Antonelli pulled off the racing line. He later admitted he could not see where he was going.
“I just backed off because I just couldn’t see the track,” the 20-year-old said in the cool-down room.
Youngest ever, 73 years after Ascari
Third place in Mexico was all he needed. Antonelli started Sunday’s 71-lap race knowing a ninth-place finish would clinch it whatever Lewis Hamilton and George Russell did, and his podium left him on a points total Max Verstappen can no longer reach with four races still on the calendar.
At 20 years and 68 days, Antonelli has broken Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 mark of 23 years, 134 days. He is also the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and only the fourth driver in the sport’s history to take the title in his second season.
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Wolff: “Complete serene”
Toto Wolff was still trying to find the words long after the podium ceremony.
“This is Kimi Antonelli! Incredible. Also today, complete serene. That’s what makes him so different,” the Mercedes boss told Sky Sports.
In the paddock, Antonelli kept returning to the people around him rather than the record books.
“I wouldn’t be here without Mercedes, without my family, so I’m very grateful for this moment,” he said after climbing out of the car.
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Verstappen wins the race, Hamilton splits the Mercedes
The race itself was Verstappen’s. The Red Bull driver led from pole, held on through a mid-race red flag and finished 0.799 seconds clear of Hamilton’s Ferrari. Antonelli came home 4.006 seconds further back in third, with his new title already mathematically assured by the running order ahead of him.
The 2026 season has four rounds left. The next one is the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on November 6-8.
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