Kimi Antonelli can become Formula 1’s youngest world champion on Sunday, November 1, and the math is simple: a ninth-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix is enough, even if George Russell wins the race. If neither Russell nor Lewis Hamilton wins, the 20-year-old Mercedes driver takes the title no matter where he finishes, Crash.net explains.
That would settle the 2026 championship with four races still to go.
A record that has stood since 2010
Sebastian Vettel has held the mark since he won his first title for Red Bull at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at 23. A clinch in Mexico City would beat that by more than three years, according to GPblog.
It would also end a long wait in Italy. No Italian has won the Drivers’ title since Alberto Ascari took back-to-back crowns for Ferrari in 1952 and 1953.
“It would be very cool to close this off, to be the next Italian champion,” Antonelli told Reuters in Austin, adding that it should only be the beginning.
How he got here
A year ago, this looked unlikely. Mercedes fast-tracked Antonelli into the seat Hamilton left when he moved to Ferrari, and Russell beat him clearly in 2025. Russell even started this season as the title favorite.
Then Antonelli won five straight races, from China to Monaco. His win at the United States Grand Prix on October 25 was his ninth of the year, and it put him on the brink.
Hamilton finished fourth in Austin and Russell eighth, just enough to push the decision to Mexico. In the cooldown room afterward, Charles Leclerc asked him, “So probably Mexico, then?” Antonelli nodded, the AP reported.
What Sunday could look like
The Mexico City Grand Prix starts at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT) and streams live in the US on Apple TV, with English and Spanish commentary. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez usually packs in one of the loudest crowds of the season, and this year the race lands on the Día de Muertos weekend.
If something goes wrong, Antonelli gets another chance a week later at the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
Watch the lead on Sunday: unless Russell or Hamilton wins, Antonelli leaves Mexico City as champion.
