Nate Saunders Nov 1, 2026, 11:55 PM ET

MEXICO CITY -- Kimi Antonelli looked on in bleary-eyed disbelief. Confetti falling, an Italian flag draped over his shoulders, Luciano Pavarotti's iconic rendition of "Nessun Dorma" blaring out over the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He was Italy's first F1 world champion since 1953. The youngest the sport has ever seen.

Minutes earlier, Antonelli, 20, had spent the final laps of his crowning race watching Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton ahead of him: the two greatest drivers of his lifetime, battling for the win. The two drivers, 11 world titles between them, were among the first to congratulate him once he got out of the car. At the podium ceremony, the pair hoisted him onto their shoulders as a fellow drivers' champion.

"I will definitely frame the picture," Antonelli said.

For it was all the stuff of wild dreams, even for a young man who has known for a while that all of his were about to come true.

"It's just an incredible moment," he said.…