Antonelli’s 2026 title capped a season of Formula 1 records

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In his second Formula 1 season, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion after setting age records as a polesitter, championship leader and Monaco Grand Prix winner.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 02 Nov 2026, 13:09 · 2 min

Kimi Antonelli’s first Formula 1 title came in only his second season and capped a campaign that had already made him the youngest polesitter, championship leader and winner of the Monaco Grand Prix. The crown added another age record: no driver had become world champion younger.

Two rounds into the championship, Antonelli took his first Grand Prix pole in China at 19 years, six months and 18 days, becoming the youngest polesitter. Sebastian Vettel had been 21 at his first pole, at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Antonelli had earlier taken P1 in Miami’s 2025 Sprint Qualifying, but that was not a Grand Prix pole. He converted the Chinese pole into his maiden victory on Sunday, becoming the youngest driver to win from pole. Max Verstappen still holds the separate record for youngest race winner: he was 18 at his first victory.

Two weeks later, Antonelli’s Japanese Grand Prix win made him the youngest driver to lead the championship, at 19 years, seven months and four days. He then won in Miami, becoming the only driver to win from each of his first three pole positions.

Miami was the third win in Antonelli’s eventual run of five straight; Monaco supplied the fifth. There he became both the youngest winner of the Grand Prix and the youngest driver to achieve a Grand Slam: pole, fastest lap, leading every lap from start to finish and victory.

At Monza, Antonelli climbed from the back of the grid to take his seventh win of the season in front of his home crowd. He became the first Italian to win the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. His title ended Italy’s 73-year wait for another champion: Giuseppe Farina (1950) and Alberto Ascari (1952 and 1953) were the only Italians to win it before him.

Antonelli also took Sebastian Vettel’s youngest-champion record. Vettel was 23 years, four months and 11 days old when he won his first title in 2010; Antonelli, born in 2006, became the first world champion born in the 2000s. He was born the same year Fernando Alonso won his second title.

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