Mercedes places Antonelli among its F1 champions

In a retrospective published on 1 November, Mercedes places Andrea Kimi Antonelli among its Formula One champions and counts his 2026 title as the team’s 10th drivers’ crown. The account names him as the fourth man on its list, alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and describes his rise as a generational change.

Mercedes calls Antonelli, 20, the youngest world champion in Formula One history and the first Italian drivers’ champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Its title roll runs from Fangio’s crowns in 1954 and 1955 through Hamilton’s in 2014 and 2015, Nico Rosberg’s in 2016, Hamilton’s four titles from 2017 to 2020 and Antonelli’s in 2026.

The team’s retrospective says Antonelli won nine races in his debut season and arrived at the Mexican Grand Prix with a 123-point lead over his team-mate. It says he needed only a top-nine finish to clinch the title, then took third after a red-flag restart, passing Charles Leclerc.

Antonelli filled the vacancy left when Hamilton moved to Ferrari, according to Mercedes. The team also says Hamilton and Max Verstappen lifted the new champion onto their shoulders on the podium — a striking image of the generational change it celebrates.