Antonelli: I Could Not See Through the Tears in the Final Lap

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship after finishing third in the Mexico Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won the race, and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton finished second.

Antonelli said he was already crying on the lap before the final one, and he believed he had lost about two seconds. He said the tears made it hard to see clearly, and somehow he could make out two Ferraris. When he crossed the finish line, he said, he let his emotions out.

He broke Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest Formula 1 world champion, winning the title at 20 years and 68 days old, by more than three years. He became the third Italian to win the championship, and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.