On Sunday, Nov. 1, Kimi Antonelli needed to finish in ninth or higher so secure his first ever Formula One World Drivers Championship. He did even better than that.
Antonelli finished third after overtaking Charles Leclerc on a late restart which gave him his first WDC at just 20 years and 67 days old, shattering the previous record held by Sebastian Vettel when he set the record in 2010 at just 23 years and 134 days old.
He also joins Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari as the only Italian F1 champions and is the first Italian F1 champion since Ascari who won back-to-back titles in 1952 and 1953.
Antonelli also became Mercedes’ first F1 drivers champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2020 when he won his record-tying seventh title.
The 20-year-old phenom has been excellent all season, winning nine of the first 19 races and adding a further seven podiums to his resume.
At the beginning of the season, Antonelli was on a flyer. He opened the season in second place to his teammate George Russell, before rattling off five consecutive wins to give him a 66-point gap to Russell and Hamilton entering the Barcelona GP.
At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Hamilton and Russell finished 1-2 while Antonelli DNF’d to cut the lead down to just 41 points, but that was just the start.
After a third-place finish at the Austrian GP, Antonelli had car troubles at the British Grand Prix which dropped him down to 15th. With Russell and Hamilton finishing second and third, Antonelli’s points gap dwindled to just 22 points to Russell, but that wouldn’t last for long.
Four races later, Antonelli had four consecutive podiums including two wins at Spa and Monza to increase the gap to second to 63 points and he wasn’t done yet.
Antonelli won the Spanish GP to increase his lead to 78 points before Russell bounced back to win the Azerbaijan GP which brought the gap down to 63 points.
Antonelli persevered, though, increasing the gap to 81 points after Bahrain, 102 points after Singapore and 123 points after COTA. That meant if Antonelli finished in ninth or higher at the Mexican GP, he would win the title, no matter what Hamilton or Russell did.
At the Mexican GP, Antonelli did what was needed and won the title with ease. Nine wins, 16 podiums and seven poles make this one of the most dominant titles in F1 history and the season isn’t over yet.
With the WDC, Antonelli also joins Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Juan Manuel Fangio as the only F1 World Champions for Mercedes.
Antonelli also decided not to take the No. 1 in 2027, which is reserved for World Champions, and will instead run his regular No. 12.
F1 will return this Sunday, Oct. 8, at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Fans can watch the race at noon on Apple TV.