Grande Kimi! Antonelli is Formula 1’s youngest EVER champion

He came. He saw. He conquered. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has announced himself as a generational talent by becoming the youngest Formula 1 champion in the sport’s 76-year existence after sealing the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Wow.

The 20-year-old Italian finished third in Mexico, establishing a lead of 119 points over his closest challenger – now Red Bull's Max Verstappen – with only 100 left on the table from the four grands prix remaining on the calendar.

In just his second season Antonelli has achieved what only two other Italians have accomplished before, joining inaugural champion Giuseppe Farina and two-time winner Alberto Ascari in the annals of F1 history. (Side note: what is an ‘annal’?)

In doing so, the Mercedes prodigy has taken more than three years out of Sebastian Vettel’s old record as the youngest ever F1 champ, and becomes a rare sophomore champion following Jacques Villeneuve with Williams in 1997 and Lewis Hamilton – the man he replaced at the Silver Arrows last year – with McLaren in 2008.

"Get in there Kimi!" exclaimed race engineer Pete Bonnington as Kimi crossed the line. "Champion! Of! The! World!"

Cue floods of tears from the young champ. "Thank you so much!" he eventually managed from the cockpit. "We did it! We did it. Thank you so much."

Unbelievable. And who could’ve predicted the manner in which he did it? Antonelli’s debut season saw flashes of brilliance mixed with periods of struggle, but his second campaign has been utterly dominant, with nine wins so far while teammate and early title favourite George Russell has managed only three.

Despite sharing the best machinery, the more experienced Brit has struggled to adapt to this season’s new generation of cars, while Antonelli has flourished with a string of outstanding performances that no other driver has come close to matching.

There have been moments of good fortune; timely safety cars aided his victories in Japan and Madrid. But Antonelli’s championship has been won through consistency and jaw-dropping talent: who will ever forget his maiden home win at Monza, where he carved through the field from 19th on the grid to take the chequered flag?

It is surely only a matter of time – years down the line, but inevitable – before the Tifosi get to cheer him on having donned the famous red of Ferrari…

Plenty of time for that. Oodles of it, in fact. At 20 it’s frightening how much Antonelli might go on to achieve, partly because his career could yet have decades still to run (Exhibit A: Fernando Alonso, whose age might soon need to be verified by carbon dating), but also because his level looks destined to go up and up and up…

Nope, we’re nowhere near peak Antonelli yet. Gulp. Dawn of a new empire.

Read: When Top Gear met Kimi Antonelli at Silverstone