Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest-ever F1 world champion, in just his second season of grand prix racing.
The Italian's third place finish in the Mexico City Grand Prix was enough to secure him the crown, as he smashed Sebastian Vettel's old record from 2010 of 23 years, 4 months, 11 days.
On Sunday, November 1st, Antonelli was 20 years, 2 months, 7 days old, beating Vettel by 3 years, 2 months, 4 days.
Antonelli is the first Italian since Alberto Ascari in 1953 to be crowned champion - and third overall after the very first title winner, Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and the first of Ascari's two titles in 1952.
He is the 36th driver to be crowned F1 champion - and just the fifth driver to win their first title in their first or second season.
The others are Juan Manuel Fangio (1951), Jacques Villeneuve (1997), and Lewis Hamilton (2008), whilst Farina is the only champion to win in their first season, although this must be caveated with the fact that it was the first year of the world championship, so someone had to win...
In terms of number of races started, if the unique circumstances of Farina's title win are excepted, it is Fangio who has waited the fewest number of grands prix before being world champion - taking 13 starts to be crowned champion at the end of his second season of 1951.
At the other end of the scale, Nico Rosberg's sole title came after 206 races in 2016, in his 11th season, whilst Nigel Mansell has had the longest career in terms of seasons, finally winning the title in 1992 in his 13th season.
As for Antonelli, he took the title in his 43rd grand prix, which places him 13th on the list in terms of the fewest number of races taken.
Between them, the 36 champions have taken 2.457 races combined to win their first title, with an average of 68.3 - with 1996 champion Damon Hill the closest to this on 67 starts.
The table below records Jochen Rindt's figure as 60 races started. Rindt was killed in practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, ahead of what would have been his 61st start. The number is recorded as the number of starts he made, with the late Austrian being assured of the title later in the year after Jacky Ickx failed to overtake his tally of 45 points.
To this day, Rindt remains the only posthumous world champion.
Fewest races before becoming F1 champion
| Driver | Year | Number of races started | Seasons competed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Farina | 1950 | 6 | 1 |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 1951 | 13 | 2 |
| Alberto Ascari | 1952 | 16 | 3 |
| Jack Brabham | 1959 | 21 | 5 |
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 1972 | 25 | 3 |
| Phil Hill | 1961 | 26 | 4 |
| Denny Hulme | 1967 | 26 | 3 |
| Jim Clark | 1963 | 30 | 4 |
| Jacques Villeneuve | 1997 | 33 | 2 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2008 | 35 | 2 |
| Graham Hill | 1962 | 40 | 5 |
| John Surtees | 1964 | 41 | 5 |
| Kimi Antonelli | 2026 | 43 | 2 |
| Mike Hawthorn | 1958 | 45 | 7 |
| Jackie Stewart | 1969 | 47 | 5 |
| Nelson Piquet | 1981 | 49 | 4 |
| Keke Rosberg | 1982 | 51 | 5 |
| James Hunt | 1976 | 52 | 4 |
| Michael Schumacher | 1994 | 52 | 4 |
| Niki Lauda | 1975 | 55 | 5 |
| Jochen Rindt | 1970 | 60* | 7 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 2010 | 62 | 4 |
| Fernando Alonso | 2005 | 66 | 4 |
| Damon Hill | 1996 | 67 | 5 |
| Ayrton Senna | 1988 | 77 | 5 |
| Mario Andretti | 1978 | 79 | 10 |
| Alan Jones | 1980 | 80 | 6 |
| Alain Prost | 1985 | 87 | 6 |
| Jody Scheckter | 1979 | 97 | 8 |
| Mika Hakkinen | 1998 | 112 | 8 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 2007 | 120 | 7 |
| Max Verstappen | 2021 | 141 | 7 |
| Lando Norris | 2025 | 152 | 7 |
| Jenson Button | 2009 | 169 | 10 |
| Nigel Mansell | 1992 | 176 | 13 |
| Nico Rosberg | 2016 | 206 | 11 |
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!