Antonelli speeds along the road to stardom

Ever since his dad smuggled him into the Formula One paddock hidden in a stack of tires, Kimi Antonelli has done things his own way.

Now, the 20-year-old Italian stands on his own as F1's youngest-ever champion after he finished third in the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday.

Antonelli's F1 adventure all started with his dad, sports car-racer Marco. His team was involved in a support race at the 2014 German Grand Prix and his 7-year-old son wanted to get a peek behind the scenes of F1 but didn't have access.

"I don't even know how I fit inside the tires, but it was really tight," Antonelli said as he prepared to make his F1 debut last year. "Plus, we put an umbrella on top so it wouldn't look, you know, suspicious or anything."

In the shadow of the greats

Every step of the way, Antonelli has been compared to the sport's greats.

He was Mercedes' replacement for Lewis Hamilton when the seven-time champion left for Ferrari. He was Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's answer to Max Verstappen, the Red Bull prodigy who made his F1 debut at 17. He was the teen title contender chasing Sebastian Vettel's record as youngest champ.

Then there's his name.

When he was born in 2006, his parents were trying to think up a distinctive middle name for baby Andrea Antonelli. A family friend suggested "Kimi". At the time, Finland's Kimi Raikkonen was one of F1's most exciting drivers and he won the title for Ferrari just after Antonelli's first birthday.

Antonelli has said it's not a direct tribute. "My family comes from a racing background, and also this good friend of ours comes from a racing background," he said last year. "So, he decided to give me Kimi, but it was not referring to the actual driver. It just came into his mind."

Sky-high expectations

Antonelli has been hot property since his go-karting days, but he only ended up with Mercedes after Ferrari let the opportunity slip.

There are conflicting reports as to why talks broke down between Ferrari and the parents of the then-11-year-old prodigy, but the Italian giant was reluctant to commit to a driver who was so young.

Signed to Mercedes' young driver program instead, Antonelli surged through karting competitions and was soon winning titles after moving up to cars in 2021.

"If I look at Kimi going through the junior ranks, I think it was quite clear for everybody that he had something very special," Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said in September. "His laps look very much on the limit, but, somehow, he manages to do the lap when it counts. That's been very impressive to watch."

Debuting with a bang

Three dramatically different Italian Grand Prix weekends show the shift in Antonelli's F1 career.

When Antonelli, a Formula Two driver at the time, was given his F1 race weekend debut in a practice session for Mercedes at Monza in 2024, he smashed into the barrier in front of his home crowd.

Mercedes stuck with him, and Antonelli seemed wide-eyed and, at times, overawed when he made his F1 race debut aged 18. Inviting his whole school class to a home race in Italy last year was a way to stay in touch with his roots, but it added to the sense that he was a kid in a grown-up world.

His rookie season showed flashes of talent, like when he became the youngest-ever driver to qualify for an F1 pole position in Miami, but there were far too many mistakes.

A run of poor results in European races led Wolff to repeatedly describe Antonelli's driving as "underwhelming".

"I let the pressure kind of destroy me, as well, during that period, because I felt like I was letting down so many people who had believed in me," Antonelli said.

Antonelli took the time to rethink things and find a new focus for 2026, making his mark almost immediately with a debut win in China in March that began a run of five victories. This year's Italian Grand Prix was an all-time great drive as Antonelli shrugged off an engine penalty to win after starting 19th on the grid.

Driving style suits the car

The biggest change in F1's regulations in decades threw even experienced drivers, but opened up opportunities for a new contender like Antonelli.

His naturally aggressive driving style and instinctive car control seem to suit the 2026 cars, and he's coped better than teammate George Russell with the heavy reliance on electrical hybrid power.

Russell singled out Antonelli's strength in slippery conditions as a difference-maker, too.

"With how things have fallen this year, it's kind of the perfect driving style for these cars," Russell said. "(Antonelli and McLaren's Lando Norris) are two drivers who are always very strong on the low-grip tracks."

"They're the two who are arguably the best-performing drivers of this season."

AP

Youngest Formula One champions

. 20y 68d (2026) Kimi Antonelli, Italy

. 23y 133d (2010) Sebastian Vettel, Germany

. 23y 300d (2008) Lewis Hamilton, Britain

. 24y 57d (2005) Fernando Alonso, Spain

. 24y 73d (2021) Max Verstappen, the Netherlands

. 25y 273d (1972) Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazil