Youngest Champion

Antonelli is F1's youngest champion. He clinched the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen won the race. At 20 years and 68 days old, he finished third, behind Verstappen and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, BBC News reported. He broke Sebastian Vettel's record for youngest champion by three years and 66 days, BBC News reported. The win also crowned him the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Antonelli opened his second F1 season as a promising but unproven talent, The Guardian reported. He won his first race in China. Four more wins followed, in Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco, building a lead he never relinquished, The Guardian reported.

Russell needed to win the Mexico City race just to keep his title hopes alive, Al Jazeera English reported. His victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin had put him 123 points clear in the standings. Ninth place or better would have been enough, BBC News reported.

Then chaos. Charles Leclerc challenged teammate Hamilton for the lead on the first lap, a move BBC News reported was likely to trigger a full inquest at Ferrari. On lap 45, a suspension failure sent Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac into the wall, triggering a red flag and a 25-lap sprint to the finish, BBC News reported. Leclerc locked a wheel at the restart, and Antonelli slipped past. Twelve laps from the end, a second safety car followed, after Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri collided.

At the late restart, Verstappen and Hamilton collided at the first chicane, BBC News reported. Neither could pass the other over the final seven laps. The three leaders crossed the line nose to tail, separated by less than two seconds. It was Verstappen's third win in four races. Hamilton later told reporters Ferrari need "serious talks," according to BBC News.

Antonelli could barely speak over the radio when Mercedes told him he had won the title. He later told reporters, according to The Guardian, "We did it. I wouldn't be here without Mercedes, without my family. This moment is one that will live forever. I am speechless. I am just trying to process this moment."