There were sobs and wails, and neither Kimi Antonelli nor anyone watching could quite comprehend what the young driver had just achieved.
“Champion of the World,” Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington told him over the radio. Antonelli immediately broke down in tears.
He later admitted that the pressure had finally caught up with him during an intense weekend. After an incident-packed and controversial Mexico City Grand Prix, Antonelli became the youngest Formula One world champion in history, securing the title at 20 years and 68 days old.
Puccini’s Nessun Dorma rang out during the podium celebrations. Antonelli was also the first Italian to win the championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953, making the moment even more significant for his country.
After finishing third behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli was lifted onto the shoulders of the two champions. Between them, Verstappen and Hamilton have 11 world titles.
That emotional scene came just minutes after Antonelli had crossed the line, hidden his gloved hands inside his helmet and allowed the full weight of the achievement to overwhelm him.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton lift new champion Kimi Antonelli onto their shoulders after his third-place finish secured the title at the Mexico GP
Antonelli celebrates becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history
Antonelli embraces his team after securing the title with a third-place finish in Mexico
Antonelli’s coronation was delayed, however, by a high-speed crash involving Valtteri Bottas. The incident interrupted the race in the hot, thin air of the sprawling Mexican capital, where the noise of car horns outside contrasted sharply with the composure Antonelli had shown throughout the season — at least until the moment it was all over.
While Ferrari became embroiled in its own dispute, Antonelli’s title celebration was held up by 33 minutes. Bottas’s front-left wheel was torn partly from its mounting, remaining attached but sitting at an alarming angle as his Cadillac was suddenly turned into a passenger vehicle. The impact appeared to involve a suspension failure. The race was stopped while the Finn received medical attention and the barriers were repaired, before he eventually hobbled away.
A red flag followed, forcing Antonelli to endure a second lights-out start from fourth place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
There was another interruption when Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad was launched into the air during a battle with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The safety car was sent onto the circuit.
The drama had been building from the original start. Antonelli lined up on the second row beside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while the only two drivers still capable of delaying his championship were ahead: pole-sitter Hamilton and George Russell.
If either Hamilton or Russell won, Antonelli would need to finish outside the top 10 for Hamilton to take the title, or outside the top nine if Russell prevailed.
The run to the first corner stretches for almost 1,000 yards, and pole position is not always the advantage it would ordinarily be at this circuit. Slipstreaming has played a major and often dramatic role in the past, leaving Antonelli to decide whether to attack immediately or allow the race to settle.
In golfing terms, he had a short putt to win The Open. But before he could claim the championship, a sweeping right-hander stood ready to test his judgment and nerve.
Antonelli, pictured during the Mexico GP, did enough with a composed drive to secure the championship
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Antonelli’s family embraces him after he crossed the finish line and fulfilled his ambition
He appeared relaxed on the grid before the start, speaking with his father Marco beneath an umbrella shielding them from the fierce heat. He kissed his mother, Veronic, on the cheek, while his younger sister Maggie was also there to share the moment.
The first-corner danger passed without catching Antonelli. He retained fourth place, while Verstappen — a master of that opening sequence and already a five-time winner in Mexico — made the strongest move.
Russell dropped to sixth, another setback in a difficult season. At the front, meanwhile, Ferrari’s drivers became involved in a fierce battle at Turn 4 after Leclerc used Russell’s slipstream along the opening straight to challenge Hamilton.
The two Ferraris ran side-by-side into the corner. Leclerc went around the outside but could not make the turn, cutting across the grass and emerging in front. The cars narrowly avoided contact.
Hamilton negotiated the corner with a slight wobble but fell to third, allowing Verstappen to take advantage of the Ferrari dispute and move into second. “Pushed off by my team-mate,” Hamilton complained.
The stewards launched an investigation, prompting Hamilton to ask: “What is happening about Charles?”
Leclerc was given a five-second penalty. Hamilton, who later overtook him during a restart, believed the punishment did not go far enough. His argument had merit: Leclerc’s move had handed him clear air at the front. Hamilton asked Mercedes to reverse their positions, although Verstappen’s presence between the two drivers made that difficult.
Antonelli is draped in the Italian flag as he absorbs the scale of his historic achievement
The new world champion receives a rapturous reception from the crowd in Mexico City
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Hamilton’s comments were undoubtedly influenced by self-interest, but his reasoning was difficult to dismiss. Once Leclerc served his penalty, Verstappen overtook him in the pits and took the lead.
Russell had also collided with Isack Hadjar on the chaotic opening lap, sending the Red Bull driver to the back of the field. The stewards’ workload increased again, and Russell received a 10-second penalty while running fifth. Fortune continued to elude George’s side of the garage.
Antonelli, by contrast, was steadily holding fourth. Russell’s penalty later dropped him further back, and he eventually finished sixth.
A fragile bubble of calm had formed around the man on the verge of becoming world champion.
Antonelli does not drink, but he had promised his family and friends a night they would “remember for ever”. It was impossible to begrudge him that celebration. Four races — or four laps of honour — remain.
READ: Inside Kimi Antonelli’s rise: How a surprise conversation with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, a close bond with Bono and washing cars at home helped propel the Italian into F1 history
