Antonelli, 20, Shatters Vettel Record to Win F1 Title
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MENAFNThe 20-year-old Italian took the crown in just his second season in the series, with four rounds still to run. He joined Mercedes in 2025 as the replacement for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
The result erases Sebastian Vettel’s mark as the youngest champion in the sport’s history. It also makes Antonelli the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the 71-lap race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Hamilton, now at Ferrari, took second.
Antonelli arrived in Mexico with a commanding points lead. A ninth-place finish or better would have sealed the championship whatever his rivals did.
He started fourth and held that spot through a chaotic first lap, in which Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc grabbed the lead after an off-track fight with teammate Hamilton.
As the leaders pitted, Antonelli briefly moved to the front. He stretched his first stint to lap 44, then switched from soft to medium tires and rejoined in fourth.
A crash involving Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas then triggered a safety car and, soon after, a red flag.
When racing resumed on lap 47, Hamilton passed Leclerc, and Antonelli fended off Lando Norris. One lap later, Antonelli made the decisive move, diving past Leclerc at Turn 1 to take third and put the title within reach.
He kept that position through a second safety car on lap 59, called after a crash involving Arvid Lindblad. With Verstappen and Hamilton fighting for the win up front, Antonelli managed his pace over the final laps and crossed the line third to become champion.
“We did it! And I wouldn’t be here without Mercedes and without my family. I’m speechless, I’m trying to process what’s just happened,” Antonelli said after the race.
“It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is incredible. I look forward to more battles in the future.
“This weekend, I did feel a little more tense. I’m just so happy I got it done,” he added.
Verstappen won by 0.799 seconds over Hamilton, while Antonelli completed the podium 4.006 seconds behind the winner.
Leclerc took fourth, followed by Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly.
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