The drives that turned Kimi Antonelli into F1's youngest world champion

Kimi Antonelli's maiden F1 title, clinched in Mexico with four rounds to spare, made him the youngest world champion in the sport's history. The crown, though, was built on weekends where he answered questions about temperament rather than pace.

Why it matters:

Antonelli was out-scored by George Russell by 169 points in 2025. Closing that gap over one winter was one thing; defending a lead through reliability failures, grid penalties and his own mistakes was another — and that is what convinced Mercedes it has a champion.

The details:

• Melbourne: a 25G crash in FP3, an overnight rebuild, second on the grid and second in the race after slipping to sixth at the start.
• Montreal: the first genuine wheel-to-wheel fight with Russell — scruffy, occasionally over the limit, but proof he would not yield.
• Monaco: pole and a fifth straight win, lapping around two seconds clear of the McLarens on a track where precision beats aggression.
• Spa: after non-scores in Austria and Britain, pole and victory while Russell retired, stretching the lead to 50 points.
• Monza: a fresh power unit meant 19th on the grid; he won anyway, seven tenths clear on fastest lap, the best charge from that far back since John Watson in 1983.
• Baku: wall contact in qualifying left him 16th; he stayed out of the barriers and limited Russell's gain to 15 points.
• Austin: on the weekend of his first shot at the title, his most complete drive of the year — then credited to his family and team rather than himself.

What's next:

The championship is settled with four rounds left, leaving Russell a winter to work out how to answer a team-mate who beat him at both his best and his worst.