Together with his victory on the 2026 Formulation 1 Japanese Grand Prix and his team-mate’s fourth-place end, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli turned the brand new championship chief. Within the course of, he earned the document because the youngest driver ever to high the F1 championship.
Antonelli’s achievement is much more outstanding if you bear in mind he’s the primary driver to steer the championship at beneath 20 years previous – and actually the primary to take action earlier than turning 22.
Normally, drivers attain the highest of the standings years later than the younger Italian. Among the many youngest, 5 drivers first led the championship at age 23, three at 24, 5 at 25, and 7 at 26.
Earlier than Antonelli, the document was held by Lewis Hamilton, who turned championship chief on the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix in simply his fourth race and debut season within the class – earlier than even profitable a grand prix.
Hamilton broke a document that had stood for almost 50 years, since McLaren founder Bruce McLaren led the 1960 F1 world championship after profitable the opening race of the season in Argentina. McLaren would go on to take three extra victories, however solely managed to complete runner-up within the drivers’ championship.
With Antonelli’s achievement, an fascinating case drops off the rostrum of youngest leaders: Sebastian Vettel, who first led a championship on the day he gained his first title, on the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the beginning of his run of 4 consecutive championships.
The youngest drivers in F1 historical past to steer the championship
| Driver | Age on the time of attaining the rostrum | Race | |
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | 19 years, 7 months, and 4 days | 2026 Japanese Grand Prix |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 22 years, 4 months, and 6 days | 2007 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 3 | Bruce McLaren | 22 years, 5 months, and eight days | 1960 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | 23 years, 4 months, and 11 days | 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | 23 years, 5 months, and 6 days | 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| 6 | Robert Kubica | 23 years, 6 months, and 1 day | 2008 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | 23 years, 7 months, and 20 days | 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | 23 years, 7 months, and 23 days | 2021 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | 24 years and 14 days | 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | 24 years, 5 months, and 4 days | 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| 11 | Peter Collins | 24 years, 7 months, and 25 days | 1956 French Grand Prix |
| 12 | Michael Schumacher | 25 years, 2 months, and 24 days | 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 13 | Lando Norris | 25 years, 4 months, and three days | 2025 Australian Grand Prix |
| 14 | Niki Lauda | 25 years, 4 months, and 15 days | 1974 French Grand Prix |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 25 years, 5 months, and a couple of days | 1972 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 16 | David Coulthard | 25 years, 11 months, and 10 days | 1997 Australian Grand Prix |
| 17 | Jacques Villeneuve | 26 years and 4 days | 1997 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 18 | Ayrton Senna | 26 years and 23 days | 1986 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 19 | Stirling Moss | 26 years, 8 months, and 17 days | 1956 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 20 | Alain Prost | 26 years, 10 months, and 30 days | 1982 South African Grand Prix |
Apparently, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen first led the championship at nearly precisely the identical age, with simply three days’ distinction in favour of the Spaniard, who took the lead of the 2025 championship within the second race of that season – the yr he would go on to win his first title.
As for Verstappen, though he gained his first race in 2016, he didn’t lead the championship till mid-2021, when he would later safe his first title.
Different nice champions like Michael Schumacher didn’t lead the championship till age 25, whereas rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost first led it at 26 – the Brazilian two years earlier than his first title, and the Frenchman three years earlier than his.
Amongst different champions not listed, Jim Clark and Nelson Piquet first led at 27; Jochen Rindt, James Hunt, and Jenson Button at 28; and Mike Hawthorn and Mika Hakkinen at 29. The remainder of the champions first led the standings after turning 30.
In case you’re questioning, solely 66 drivers in Formulation 1 historical past have ever led the drivers’ championship. And for the document, the oldest first-time championship leaders had been five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio, at 38 years and 10 months, and the game’s first-ever champion, Giuseppe Farina, who first led – and gained his title – at 43 years previous.
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