From surviving setbacks to making history – Antonelli's incredible journey to his maiden F1 title

Kimi Antonelli has made history by clinching his maiden World Championship, the Mercedes racer becoming the youngest-ever driver to take the crown after embarking on a stunning sophomore campaign. F1.com charts the journey of his triumphant 2026 season, from an initial setback through to his incredible run of victories…

Round 1, Australia – Bouncing back from an early crash

The season did not necessarily start in perfect fashion for Antonelli, with the youngster suffering a heavy crash in Free Practice 3 at the Australian Grand Prix. He quickly bounced back, however, by claiming P2 on the grid, which he converted into the same position come race day, helping Mercedes to secure a 1-2 finish alongside team mate George Russell.

Round 2, China – Converting first pole into maiden win

One week later in Shanghai, the tables turned at Mercedes. While Russell took another win in the Sprint, it was Antonelli who scored his maiden pole position – making him F1’s youngest-ever polesitter – before storming to his debut victory on Sunday.

Round 3, Japan – Becoming the youngest-ever championship leader

Antonelli’s impressive run of form continued at the Japanese Grand Prix, with another pole position and win resulting in the Italian climbing to the top of the drivers’ standings – a feat that saw him become the youngest driver to ever head the championship at 19 years, seven months and four days old.

Round 4, Miami – Making history with another win

Next time out in Miami, Antonelli dropped backwards in the Sprint, picking up a penalty for track limits en route to a P6 finish. Once again, however, the youngster recovered by seizing pole position and resisting pressure from a chasing Lando Norris to take another victory, making him the first driver in history to convert their first three poles into wins.

Round 5, Canada – Another win amid heartbreak for Russell

The Mercedes intra-team battle turned up a notch in Montreal, with Russell beating Antonelli after a fierce fight for the lead during the Sprint. Russell went on to secure pole for the Grand Prix, where the team mates resumed their thrilling scrap on track – but the duel came to an early end when Russell was forced to retire due to a power unit issue, resulting in Antonelli’s championship lead increasing to 43 points.

Round 6, Monaco – Triumphing around the streets of Monte Carlo

Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a feat that most drivers dream of achieving, and Antonelli boosted his chances of reaching the milestone by adding another pole position to his tally during an exciting Qualifying. The title leader kept his cool to win an eventful race, while penalties for Russell saw the British driver leave the event with no points.

Round 7, Barcelona – Title lead cut down after dramatic retirement

After climbing up to P2 during the latter stages of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix – following a close battle with Russell – Antonelli’s race came to a sudden end when he was forced to pull off track with a mechanical issue. The Italian admitted that his first retirement of the campaign had left him feeling “a bit empty”.

Round 8, Austria – Another boost for Russell in championship fight

The momentum again looked to be with Russell as F1 returned to Austria, with the Briton converting pole position into a victory. Antonelli had to settle for P3 behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, meaning that his championship lead now stood at 40 points.

Round 9, Great Britain – Sprint victory followed by a challenging race

Antonelli got back to winning ways at Silverstone by triumphing in the Sprint for the first time, having overtaken polesitter Lewis Hamilton on Lap 8. Race day was not quite so straightforward, however, with the youngster dropping backwards through the field due to a left front wheel shield failure. A penalty for track limits ultimately left him in P16 – a result that reduced his advantage in the standings down further to 25 points.

Round 10, Belgium – Return to the top step as title lead increases

Two weeks later in Belgium, Antonelli bounced back with his sixth pole of the season and a commanding victory on race day. Russell, meanwhile, found himself out of the running early on following Lap 1 contact with Hamilton, meaning that Antonelli now held a 45-point lead in the title fight.

Round 11, Hungary – Extending his lead despite challenges

After his pole and victory at Spa, Hungary proved to be a more challenging weekend for Antonelli and Mercedes – the Italian having to settle for P4 in Qualifying before being demoted to seventh on the grid for a yellow flag infringement. A different strategy and late-race Virtual Safety Car (when some rivals pitted again) brought him into podium contention, though, and he came away with P3 and an extended title lead.

Round 12, Netherlands – Strong starts “save” Antonelli’s race

When the Zandvoort Sprint weekend began, Russell appeared to have the upper hand in the Mercedes intra-team battle – the Briton taking P1 on Saturday, and Antonelli settling for fourth. However, in the Grand Prix itself, Antonelli launched past his team mate from the second row and then challenged Norris for the lead, before finishing runner-up to the McLaren man via a tough final stint on hard tyres.

Round 13, Italy – A comeback drive for the ages

Antonelli headed into his home Grand Prix weekend knowing that he would be starting from the back of the grid due to an engine-related penalty. What followed was an epic recovery drive that will no doubt go down as one of his finest performances in the sport. Starting from 19th, he was up to 14th by the end of the first lap and 12th after the second lap, before charging his way through the points-paying positions – eventually passing team mate Russell for a memorable win.

Round 14, Spain – Capitalising on Norris’ VSC misfortune

Antonelli was second-best to Norris in Qualifying at the all-new Madring, and it looked as though the McLaren driver would convert his pole into victory on race day with a strong start. However, an early Virtual Safety Car – coming out just at the wrong time for Norris – handed the lead to Antonelli, who controlled the remainder of the encounter to make it back-to-back wins.

Round 15, Azerbaijan – A tricky weekend on Baku’s streets

Antonelli faced a couple of major challenges when the Azerbaijan Grand Prix got underway, having lost valuable track time in practice due to technical problems and then crashing in the Q1 phase of Qualifying. While he recovered from 16th to fifth, Russell dominated proceedings, and Antonelli admitted afterwards that it represented “the worst weekend of the season for me”.

Round 16, Bahrain in Malaysia – Taking a huge step towards the title

The tables would turn once more next time out at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which tested the drivers with rough tarmac and mixed weather conditions. As a dramatic wet/dry race drew to a close, Russell dramatically retired with an engine failure, giving Antonelli a clear run to second place – and another massive boost in terms of the championship situation.

Round 17, Singapore – Making his dream a mathematical possibility

Although Antonelli reported struggling with Mercedes' "very difficult" upgraded car during the early stages of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, it didn't seem to show too much in his results. He finished fourth in the Sprint before improving to the podium on race day, and with Russell settling for a hard-fought P9, the Italian set himself up for a potential title win at the next round.

Round 18, United States – Dominant victory edges him even closer

Arriving at the Circuit of The Americas with a 102-point lead over his team mate, Antonelli needed three things to go his way: one more race win, Russell to finish ninth or below, and Hamilton to place outside of the top four. He delivered on his side, converting what Toto Wolff described as a "miracle lap" in Qualifying to a supreme victory. Everything from his launch to tyre management and strategy was close to flawless, but both of his nearest rivals in the standings wound up just one position higher than he required, delaying what now seemed inevitable for one more week.

Round 19, Mexico City – Third on track, first in the history books

He had executed a champion's drive in Austin, so all that separated Antonelli from his record-breaking maiden title was a P9 finish in Mexico City. For the racer who had only missed out on the podium at three Grands Prix, that didn't sound like too big an ask. While he unsurprisingly felt "more tense than usual" before lining up in the P4 grid slot, he delivered the kind of level-headed performance he's grown into this season and snatched third place from Charles Leclerc. The subsequent podium celebration won't be forgotten any time soon, with the Italian hoisted onto the shoulders of two of the sport's most successful racers on the podium in Verstappen and Hamilton.