Antonelli makes history

Antonelli makes history: Analysis of the Mexican Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

Coming into the race weekend, the calculation was simple for Kimi Antonelli. A ninth-place finish or higher would crown him the youngest ever champion in F1. Only Lewis Hamilton or George Russell had a mathematical chance of challenging him and that would have involved victory in Mexico and a series of disasters for the young Italian. With that in mind, it would have been easy for Antonelli to take it relatively easy, avoid any risk and take a midfield position in the race to secure his place in history. However, F1 drivers are known for many things and a lack of steely competitive edge is certainly not one of them. Antonelli was there to deliver his best for the team.

His third-place finish in the race reflected that spirit and his hunger to deliver was shown as he fought a feisty Charles Leclerc in the latter stages of the race to secure his podium spot. Perhaps it was fitting that he was sharing the podium with two multiple world champions as Verstappen took the victory with Lewis Hamiton second. A combined 11 world championships between the pair, putting the young Antonelli on their shoulders (literally) as they celebrated on the podium. It was quite a spectacle and showed a level of respect from the two most successful drivers in recent F1 eras for the new champion in town.

Prior to the podium, there was plenty of action in the race to keep fans entertained. Lewis Hmaiton had taken hist first even pole for Ferrari the day before and given the nature of the circuit looked confident in his ability to translate that into a race win. However, on the opening lap, Leclerc and Hamilton were alongside each other going into turn four, forcing Hamilton wide and he lost the lead to Leclerc. The stewards investigated and decided that Leclerc was at fault, had gained an advantage by going off track, and was given a five second penalty. That did nothing to improve the mood of Hamilton, who felt that this simply handed the victory to Verstappen. For the remainder of the race, Hamilton aired his frustrations about Leclerc at regular intervals on the team radio and after the race said that the team needed “serious talks behind the scenes” about what had happened. It’s worth remembering that it is not the first time that the Ferrari pair have clashed on track, so one would suspect that this will not be the last we hear of that incident.

Further back, it was a quiet race for Lando Norris in fifth, with George Russell sixth, followed by Laim Lawson and a credible eighth for Bortoleto in the Audi.

Without doubt, however, the day belonged to the 20-year-old from Bologna. Reflecting on what Antonelli has achieved in a matter of months is quite remarkable. He came to pre-season testing in Bahrain in February to prepare for the season having never won an F1 race. He subsequently took his first win in China the following month and in seven months he has chalked up nine wins to become the youngest F1 champion of all time, overtaking Sebastian Vettel by three years.