In Formula One (F1) car racing, Italian driver and Mercedes racer Kimi Antonelli became the world champion for the current year.
The 20-year-old Antonelli, winning his first title, set the record as the youngest driver ever to become champion in F1 history.
In the Mexican Grand Prix held on Sunday midnight, Indian time, Antonelli secured his championship title by finishing in 3rd place. His family had come in person to watch the race.
Antonelli has clinched the title even with 4 races still remaining in the current season.
In the points standings for this year, Antonelli is currently in first place with 380 points, while the Dutch driver and Red Bull racer Max Verstappen is in second place with 261 points.
Even if Verstappen wins all 4 remaining races, it is certain that he will not be able to catch Antonelli’s points total.
So far in the current season, Antonelli leads with 9 wins. George Russell and Max Verstappen are next with 3 wins each.
“At this moment of victory, I’m trying to fully understand what has happened. The moment when we achieve something we have worked so hard for is truly very special.
This moment that I have reached together with my family will always remain in my memory. In this race, during the final lap, I lost a few seconds because I was in a celebratory mood after realizing I had become the champion” - Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli won the F1 title at the age of 20, setting a record as the youngest champion in the history of the competition. Before this, the record had belonged to German driver and Red Bull racer Sebastian Vettel, who won the title at the age of 23 in 2010.
Antonelli became the first Italian driver in F1 history to be crowned champion in the past 73 years. The last time was in 1953, when Alberto Ascari won the title.
Mexican Grand Prix: Verstappen's 6th victory
In the Mexican Grand Prix race, Dutch driver and Red Bull racer Max Verstappen emerged victorious.
British driver and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton and Antonelli finished in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
This was Verstappen’s third win of the season, and his sixth victory in the history of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Earlier, in this race, which consisted of a total of 71 laps, Finnish driver and Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas was involved in a car crash on the 46th lap.
He escaped unhurt, and Verstappen, who was leading in the race that restarted later, did not give up that position to anyone after that.
Hamilton, who started this race from pole position, fell behind on the 4th lap. There was a fierce battle between him and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for the lead. At one point, Hamilton went off the track and rejoined.
After investigating this, race officials imposed a 5-second penalty on Charles. The Ferrari team expressed strong dissatisfaction with this.