Antonelli, 20, becomes Formula One's youngest world champion in Mexico

Kimi Antonelli is Formula One's youngest world champion. The Mercedes driver, who is Italian, sealed the title by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, at the age of 20 years and 68 days.

That beats the record set by Sebastian Vettel in 2010 by more than three years. Antonelli is also the first Italian to take the crown since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Max Verstappen won the race for Red Bull, crossing the line 0.799 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. Antonelli came home 3.207 seconds back, his 16th podium finish of the season.

On his slow-down lap, the young Italian was in tears on the team radio. "Thank you so much, we did it," he said. His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, told him it was "a pleasure to be on the journey with you, but it's just the first chapter".

Speaking afterwards, Antonelli said he was struggling to take in the moment. "I'm speechless, just trying to process what has happened," he said, adding that sharing the podium with Verstappen and Hamilton was "truly incredible".

A race of two halves

The race was stopped for about 45 minutes after Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily in his Cadillac, following a suspension failure. Two safety cars and the red flag split the afternoon into two parts.

Hamilton started from pole, the 105th of his career, but his race unravelled early. He collided with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and later said over the radio that he had been "pushed out by my own teammate".

Stewards gave Leclerc a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage and George Russell a 10-second penalty for causing a collision. Leclerc finished fourth. Hamilton, clearly unhappy, said the team had the pace to win and would hold "serious talks behind the scenes".

Verstappen, who started fifth, said his move on the first lap set up his win. "The first start made the race for me," he said, adding that he was "sweating at the end to keep Lewis behind". It was his sixth victory in Mexico, a record, and the 74th of his career.

Antonelli's team-mate Russell needed to win to keep the title fight alive and finished sixth. Outgoing champion Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completing the top ten.

For Nigerian fans who follow Formula One on pay TV and online, the result closes one of the closest title races in years and confirms a generational shift in the sport. Antonelli had already made history in March, when at 19 he became the youngest pole-sitter in F1.

What happens next: the season moves on to its remaining rounds, with Verstappen and Hamilton still chasing race wins and Antonelli now carrying the champion's tag into every weekend.