Kimi Antonelli officially clinched his first world title at the Mexico City Grand Prix, making history as the youngest champion in Formula 1 ever. The 20-year-old, in only his second year in the sport, finished third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who took the race win, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, but the real story is how Antonelli rewrote the record books by smashing Sebastian Vettel’s previous mark by three years and 67 days.
Antonelli’s Unbelievable Calm in the Chaos
This kid is something else, seriously. Antonelli went into the Mexico City race knowing he just needed to stay out of trouble. Even if his team-mate won, he only needed ninth place. If Hamilton took the checkered flag, Antonelli just needed a tenth. He drove an incredibly composed race, holding a steady fourth in the first stint behind Leclerc, Verstappen, and Hamilton. He even led for a bit as others pitted. The Grand Prix was wild, with a red flag leading to a 25-lap sprint to the finish. There was a huge crash on lap 45 when Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac front suspension failed, then another safety car with just 12 laps left after Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri collided. Through all that madness, Antonelli kept his head down. At one point, he passed Leclerc who had locked his wheel during a restart battle. He eventually ran at the back of a three-car train with Verstappen and Hamilton in the closing laps, all of them nose to tail, less than two seconds separating them at the finish. When his team told him he was world champion, he was a mess, tears mixing with laughter on the radio, barely able to speak. “Thank you so much. We did it. We did it,” he finally managed. What a moment.
Ferrari’s Meltdown Gift-Wraps a Verstappen Win
While Antonelli was making history, Ferrari was busy imploding. Max Verstappen ended up taking his third win in four races, largely benefiting from the absolute internal battle brewing between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Hamilton started on pole, Leclerc was third, and almost immediately things got spicy. Leclerc challenged Hamilton through Turns One, Two, and Three. Hamilton held his ground, but then at the Turn Four/Five chicane, Leclerc pulled an aggressive move, diving around the outside, going onto the grass, cutting the corner, and emerging in the lead. Hamilton also went off defending, but nowhere near as dramatically. Hamilton finished second but he was *fuming*, feeling like the win had slipped through his fingers because of Leclerc’s first-lap aggression. You could just feel the tension boiling over at the Italian team. This incident is definitely going to lead to some serious questions and an inquest at Ferrari, and honestly, you gotta wonder if it helped Verstappen stay clear of any real challenge for the win.
Antonelli secured the title with several races still on the schedule for the season. He’s taken the sport by storm, and it’s clear F1 has a new superstar who’s already showing he’s here to stay and dominate.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
Leave a Reply