How Kimi Antonelli defied the odds and silenced his doubters to win first F1 title

Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched his maiden Formula 1 world championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix. 

By finishing X in Mexico City, Antonelli beat Mercedes team-mate George Russell to the 2026 drivers’ crown and became F1’s youngest-ever world champion in the process. 

It has been a remarkable 2026 season for Antonelli, who defied expectations and silenced his doubters on his way to clinching his first world title. 

This is how he did it…

Pre-season underdog 

Antonelli came into the 2026 season as the firm underdog, with both the bookies and pundits making his Mercedes team-mate Russell the overwhelming favourite to win the title. 

Mercedes had already been billed as the team to beat at the start of F1’s major regulation reset, and Russell was seen as the obvious pick to become champion given the fact he had won five races since joining the Silver Arrows in 2022, and had established himself as the team leader following Lewis Hamilton’s departure. 

Russell comprehensively out-performed Antonelli during the Italian’s turbulent rookie campaign that was littered with mistakes, though there were glimmers of his raw potential and future promise. 

Few expected Antonelli to complete such a dramatic turnaround at the start of 2026, and when Russell kicked off the campaign with victory in Australia on a weekend his team-mate suffered a huge crash, it looked as though Russell had underlined his pre-season tag. 

Breakthrough win in China starts historic streak

Antonelli bounced back in style at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he claimed both his first F1 pole position and grand prix victory by leading Russell home in a Mercedes one-two. 

It was a coming of age performance from Antonelli all weekend that went some way in silencing his early doubters. It led Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to deliver his famous radio message to Antonelli after the chequered flag. 

"He's too young. We shouldn't put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs the experience. Look at the mistakes he makes. Here we go Kimi. Victory,” Wolff said in a clear swipe to critics who questioned Mercedes’ decision to fast-track the teenager into F1. 

A second win in succession at the Japanese Grand Prix saw Antonelli create more history as he became the youngest driver to lead the world championship. 

Despite a month-long break due to the cancellation of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Antonelli continued where he left off by taking another win in Miami, before further victories came in Canada and Monaco. 

Suddenly, with five victories on the bounce, Antonelli already found himself in a commanding position in the championship…

Keeping his head under pressure 

Antonelli’s major first setback of the season came in Barcelona when his Mercedes ground to halt because of an electrical shutdown. Hamilton capitalised by taking his first win for Ferrari and reduced the gap in the title race down to 41 points. 

The run of races between June and July would prove to be Antonelli’s toughest spell of the season as Ferrari secured two victories and Mercedes’ rivals closed in. Antonelli seemed set for victory at Silverstone until he suffered a wheel-fairing failure and dropped down the order. He would ultimately score no points due to picking up a track limits penalty. 

Antonelli hit back with a timely win in Belgium to re-establish control in the championship. This sparked another incredibly consistent run that saw Antonelli finish on the podium in seven of the next eight races, including racking up two more victories.  

Baku was the only blemish and marked Antonelli’s most glaring unforced error of the season as he crashed during qualifying. Avoiding the same pitfalls as Oscar Piastri from 12 months earlier, Antonelli salvaged fifth place to limit the damage. 

Azerbaijan, his FP3 crash in Melbourne, a messy opening lap in Austria and a few track limits issues aside, Antonelli was largely mistake-free on his run to the title. The aforementioned examples came about through Antonelli’s all-out approach, but it was nothing compared to what we saw in 2025. 

Antonelli’s remarkable consistency laid the foundations for his title charge, and his aggressive style paved the way for his most impressive performance of the season.

Comeback charge on home soil

At the Italian Grand Prix, Antonelli pulled off one of racing’s greatest ever comebacks with a championship-defining drive on home soil at Monza. 

Antonelli started 19th due to an engine penalty but carved his way through the field and was already challenging Russell, who started from pole, for victory just 16 laps in. 

The Italian caught and passed Russell with three laps to go to complete a sensational victory that marked the second furthest back a driver has ever come from to win a grand prix. Only John Watson eclipsed this, by winning from 22nd in the 1983 United States Grand Prix. 

It truly was a statement performance during a stand-out season from the 20-year-old and one that cemented his position as champion elect. This was the moment Antonelli proved beyond any doubt that he was the driver to beat in 2026. 

Russell’s title capitulation 

While Russell could not match Antonelli for much of the year in terms of outright pace and performance, the Briton’s 2026 campaign will largely be remembered for a series of reliability woes that ultimately wrecked his title hopes. 

After a perfect weekend in Australia, the first signs of trouble for Russell came at the second round in China, where car issues in qualifying cost him a likely pole. 

A huge blow came in Canada, where Russell retired while leading after his Mercedes stopped on track with a power unit issue, while a water leak and anti-stall at the start compromised his weekend in Hungary. 

Power issues left him vulnerable on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, leading to him crashing out with Hamilton and suffering another huge points loss to Antonelli. 

The definitive blow to Russell’s title hopes came with his heartbreaking late retirement at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia due to an engine failure, which resulted in a grid penalty in Singapore. This was the final nail in the coffin for Russell’s championship aspirations. 

These issues, while taking nothing away from the job done by Antonelli, ultimately accelerated his coronation.