By Nia Cooper
Formula One has officially crowned its 2026 champion.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli made history as the youngest champion; at just 20 years old he surpassed Sebastian Vettel for the record. Antonelli finished third at the Mexican Grand Prix this Sunday, clinching his first world title. The Mercedes driver had a considerable lead of 123 points over his teammate and rival, George Russell.
With this being only his second year in the sport, critics have been recognizing how much of a generational talent Antonelli is. Before his rookie year in 2025, many people online doubted his abilities to be a successful driver at Mercedes. Antonelli finished 7th in the standings last year, accumulating just 150 points over 24 races. Now he has won the title with 4 races left on the calendar.
Many consider this the beginning of Kimi Antonelli’s reign and expect him to win multiple titles in the future. Kimi shared the podium with 4x world champion Max Verstappen and 7x world champion Lewis Hamilton. When the race concluded both former world champions embraced the 20 year old and offered their congratulations.
George Russell was not on the podium, having finished P6, but still congratulated his teammate. Russell was considered one of the championship favorites coming into the 2026 season, but ultimately fell short. He experienced 3 DNFs at the Canadian, Belgian, and Bahrain Grand Prix that cost him valuable points.
There are multiple F1 fans at Raleigh Charter, one of them being senior Aadhav Jayashanger.
“First of all, huge congrats to Kimi, quite literally the stuff of legends. All I’m going to say is that the last time we saw a driver win the WDC in his second year, he went on to become a seven-time world champion,” Jayashanger said.
“We really got to see some long-timers get challenged, and some newcomers pop off. Watching Verstappen and Hamilton race like 2021 was 5 minutes ago was amazing to watch, and I’m glad it revitalized them. Obviously, Kimi going crazy was crazy to see, George is absolutely going through it, the only highlights might be Australia and his engagement. I hope this doesn’t affect him too much, he’s still got huge potential and I really think he’s a WDC contender when he locks in.”
Another fan is sophomore Rollsanne Negley who has been watching F1 for a while and is an avid Kimi Antonelli fan. “I think it’s great, he’s young and put in a lot of effort. It shows you don’t have to be old to win stuff. [Kimi] does have a good car and that was a contributing factor. I don’t think you could’ve put anyone in the car and they would’ve won.”
Kimi Antonelli’s championship win was record-breaking and his name will be etched into the history books. Even though the drivers’ championship is over, the constructors’ championship is still up for grabs and will continue to the next race in Brazil. While nothing is certain in the sport of Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli has solidified himself as a driver who will be remembered by many.
