Formula 1 has a new world champion, and his name is Kimi Antonelli. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver secured the 2026 Drivers’ Championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on November 1, turning a remarkable second season in the sport into a historic achievement. He did not need to win the race. Third place was enough to make the title mathematically certain, with four rounds still remaining.
The result carries two major records. Antonelli is now the youngest Formula 1 World Champion ever, having achieved the feat at 20 years and 68 days. He is also the first Italian driver to win the championship since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Yet another detail has attracted attention: despite reaching the top of the sport, Antonelli is reportedly still among the lower-paid drivers on the grid.
That contrast makes his story particularly interesting. His sporting value has risen dramatically, while the salary figures reported for the 2026 season still reflect a young driver who entered the championship with a relatively short Formula 1 record.
A title secured under pressure in Mexico
The Mexican Grand Prix was not a straightforward afternoon. Antonelli started from fourth place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, knowing that a finish inside the top nine would guarantee the championship regardless of the results of his closest challengers.
Max Verstappen won the race for Red Bull, with Lewis Hamilton finishing second for Ferrari. Antonelli crossed the line in third, four seconds behind the winner. The race included a red-flag interruption after Valtteri Bottas’s crash and further incidents that brought the Safety Car into play.
For Antonelli, the key task was to avoid unnecessary risks. He had built a strong enough advantage during the season to arrive in Mexico with control of his own destiny. The third-place finish delivered exactly what he needed: the points required to end the title fight.
The championship was therefore not decided by a last-corner gamble. It was the result of a season-long campaign in which the Italian combined speed with the ability to collect points when circumstances were difficult.
A record that rewrites Formula 1 history
At 20 years and 68 days, Antonelli has moved ahead of Sebastian Vettel as the youngest driver ever to win the Formula 1 World Championship. Vettel was 23 years and 134 days old when he secured his first title in 2010.
The Italian achievement has a separate historical meaning. Alberto Ascari was the last Italian world champion, winning back-to-back titles in 1952 and 1953. Giuseppe Farina had claimed the inaugural championship in 1950. Antonelli is therefore only the third Italian driver to become Formula 1 world champion.
For a country with a deep motorsport culture, the gap since Ascari has been a long one. Italy has continued to play a major role in racing through teams, manufacturers, circuits and drivers, but the Drivers’ Championship had remained out of reach for more than seven decades.
Antonelli’s victory brings that wait to an end and gives Italian motorsport a new figure around whom a generation of young fans can rally.
The season behind the championship
The title was built on a sequence of strong performances rather than one isolated breakthrough. Antonelli took his first Formula 1 victory in China, at Shanghai, on March 15, and also claimed his first pole position. That result marked the beginning of a season in which he repeatedly challenged the established names at the front.
Further wins followed in Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco. He later added victories in Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United States, bringing his total to nine Grand Prix wins in 2026. The victory at Monza was particularly memorable: after starting nineteenth, Antonelli fought his way to the front in a dramatic recovery that electrified the home crowd.
There were difficult moments as well. A retirement in Barcelona and less productive weekends showed that the campaign was not flawless. But the response was important. Antonelli returned to the podium and continued to score heavily, preventing his rivals from turning those setbacks into a sustained challenge.
After Mexico, his points total stood at 380, 119 ahead of Max Verstappen. That margin made the championship unassailable with four races still on the calendar.
The salary question: a champion outside the top earners
The financial side of the story has produced a striking headline. According to SportMediaset, Antonelli’s reported salary is around €3 million, placing him seventeenth in the ranking of Formula 1 drivers’ earnings.
Those figures should not be treated as confirmed contract details. Formula 1 teams do not routinely publish the full financial terms of driver agreements, and salary rankings are generally based on media estimates. Other international reports have put Antonelli’s basic 2026 salary at approximately $2 million, while also suggesting that performance bonuses could significantly increase his total earnings.
The distinction between base salary, bonuses and commercial income matters. A driver may have a relatively modest fixed salary but receive additional payments for victories, podiums, pole positions or championship achievements. Sponsorship and endorsement deals can add another layer.
The comparison with established stars is still revealing. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are reported to earn far more than Antonelli, reflecting their long records of success, their commercial profiles and the value of their contracts. Antonelli, by contrast, has only recently begun his Formula 1 career.
Winning the world championship changes that position. His market value has risen, and the next contract discussions are likely to take place in a very different context. The title does not automatically reveal the details of his future earnings, but it gives him a much stronger sporting position.
From the Mercedes garage to celebrations across Italy
The scenes after the Mexican Grand Prix captured the emotional scale of the achievement. Antonelli celebrated with his family and the Mercedes team, thanking the people who had supported him throughout his rise to Formula 1.
Tributes quickly arrived from across the sporting world. Jannik Sinner, Valentino Rossi and other Italian personalities congratulated the new champion. Political leaders also recognised the importance of a result that returned an Italian driver to the top of the sport after 73 years.
The celebrations even reached Naples. At San Gregorio Armeno, the famous street associated with traditional nativity figurines, artisan Genny Di Virgilio displayed a statuette dedicated to Antonelli. It had been prepared before the race but was kept out of view until the title was confirmed.
That small detail says something about the speed with which a sporting achievement can become part of popular culture. Within hours, Antonelli had moved from the Mercedes cockpit to the front pages, television coverage and even the traditional imagery of the Christmas season.
What comes after the first title?
The 2026 championship is settled, but the season is not over. Four Grands Prix remain: São Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Antonelli can now approach those races as world champion, while Mercedes continues its effort to secure the Constructors’ Championship.
The next challenge will be different. A first title confirms that a driver can reach the top; defending that position requires consistency, development and the ability to handle the expectations that come with success.
Antonelli has already achieved something that once seemed distant for Italian Formula 1 fans. He has broken the age record, ended a 73-year wait and delivered a world championship to Mercedes. The salary debate may continue, but the sporting reality is clear: Kimi Antonelli is no longer simply a promising young driver. He is the 2026 Formula 1 World Champion.
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