Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest champion in F1 history at age 20

MEXICO CITY (AP) — After crossing the finish line of the Mexico City Grand Prix behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, F1 history-maker Kimi Antonelli placed his hands on the steering wheel and his voice cracked as he said, “We did it, we did it.”

Although the 20-year-old Mercedes driver finished third in the Mexican capital on Sunday, he became the youngest champion in the history of Formula 1.

“I’m still trying to realize and understand what just happened, when you work so hard and then you finally achieve it is truly special,” said Antonelli, who was joined by his parents and younger sister. “All the emotions come, to be able to witness this moment with my family is a moment I will always remember.”

Antonelli, who secured the title with four races remaining, said the final lap was complicated by the excitement of what he had achieved — he began to savor it even before crossing the finish line.

“I think I lost two seconds because I could not see ahead, I think I saw two Ferraris,” he said with a smile. “It was very special, a lot of memories went through my mind at that moment, and I let it all out after achieving one of my biggest dreams.

Antonelli, the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953, took an unassailable lead in the standings over teammate George Russell and Ferrari's Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel was the previous youngest champion at age 23 in 2010.

Although the Italian driver knew, after winning the United States Grand Prix, that the title was firmly within his grasp, his first few days in Mexico were not easy; he fell ill, even though he claimed on Sunday to be in his best physical shape.

But the greatest challenge was the mental battle that came with having the achievement so close within reach.

“The weekend has not been easy; I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. It is not easy to hear congratulations on a win when the job is not yet done. But hearing it repeatedly made me realize that I could actually achieve it.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, claimed his sixth victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, further cementing his affinity with the circuit.

“The ‘Max-ico’ Grand Prix will be a great name to call it,” Verstappen said with a laugh. “To be honest I love the city and the fans, but I have no idea why I have won it six years, it just happened. It always comes together for me here.”

“For 73 years, our country has waited for this moment, and today an entire nation will celebrate one of its own reaching the very pinnacle of our sport,” said Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

“Today, his name joins the legends of our sport. A new chapter in Formula 1 history has been written, and I firmly believe this is only the beginning of an extraordinary legacy.”

The race was stopped on lap 46 with a red flag after Valtteri Bottas crashed into the wall at the first corner, following issues with his right-side suspension.

Cadillac reported that the driver was given “further medical assessments as a precaution.” Bottas had got out of the car unaided and waved to the fans before leaving the track.

At the restart, Verstappen was first — followed by Charles Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Lando Norris and Russell — and the Red Bull driver did not let the win slip away.

After Mexico, F1 will head to Brazil and then to Las Vegas. It remains uncertain whether the final two scheduled Grands Prix — in Qatar and Abu Dhabi — will take place, given instability in the region.

Hamilton, who had secured pole position on Saturday, lost it on the fourth lap while battling for the lead with Leclerc. Hamilton briefly went off track, dropping back to third place.

The maneuver between the two Ferrari drivers was investigated, resulting in a five-second penalty for Leclerc — a decision that left seven-time world champion Hamilton fuming.

“The stewards are basically handing Charles this win. We agreed in the drivers’ briefing,” Hamilton said. “The problem with a 5-second penalty is that he’s got clean air and doesn’t have to manage (the car) like the rest of us. He should have just given the position back.”

Shortly before the red flag caused by Bottas’ crash, Hamilton radioed, “We’ve got problems ... big, big problems.” On pulling into the garage, he appeared visibly frustrated with his team.

Leclerc said after the race that he wanted to give the position back to Hamilton, but Verstappen got between them.

“At that point it did not matter because Max passed us and the race was done,” Hamilton said. “I am happy, but we lost valuable points we could have easily been 1-2 today, but your teammate works against you, we just have to figure it out and something needs to change for sure.”

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, center, celebrates with his team after clinching the world championship at the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates with his team after clinching the world championship at the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, who finished third, celebrates on the podium after winning the world championship alongside second placed Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain at the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, who finished third, is lifted by race winner Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, left, and second placed Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain after winning the world championship at the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates becoming a world champion after finishing third in the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates his world champion title after the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates his world champion title after the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, congratulates Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy his world title after, the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates his world champion title after the Mexico Grand Prix Formula One race in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy walks through the paddock before the qualifying session for the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race in Mexico City, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 2, 2026--

Speech Processing Solutions (SPS), the global leader in professional dictation and transcription solutions sold under the Philips brand, today announced the launch of Philips SpeechLive Legal Direct and Philips SpeechLive Professional Direct. The two solutions allow legal and other professionals to dictate into supported desktop applications, with recognized text appearing as they speak. They are designed both for organizations adopting professional speech recognition for the first time and for customers moving from established or end-of-life speech recognition solutions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029365830/en/

With support of 29 voice commands across 19 languages, these new solutions combine familiar dictation practices with commands covering navigation, selection, editing, formatting, lists and help functions. Professionals can continue working on their documents by voice, without repeatedly switching to keyboard and mouse, while remaining within the connected Philips SpeechLive environment. Automatic and spoken punctuation provide flexibility in how dictated text is structured. For conversations involving more than one participant, real-time multi-speaker recognition can distinguish different voices and organize recognized speech using speaker identifiers and timestamps. This provides a structured starting point for reviewing client discussions, interviews and meetings.

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Specialist speech recognition for legal professionals

SpeechLive Legal Direct uses Speech Recognition Legal, which is tuned for specialist legal language – including terminology, citations, references and frequently used expressions – to help reduce repetitive correction. Vocabulary and Replacements allow for the configuration of regularly used legal terms and preferred written forms.

Professional speech recognition that reflects an organization’s language

SpeechLive Professional Direct brings the same real-time, at-the-cursor experience to professionals working across a broad range of industries. Configurable Vocabulary helps recognition adapt to industry terminology, company names, technical expressions and frequently used phrases, while Replacements allow preferred written forms and recurring expressions to be standardized.

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Both solutions are delivered through the redesigned SpeechLive desktop application, built to support the full Direct experience. They integrate with compatible Philips SpeechMike Premium and Philips SpeechMike Ambient devices, with configurable hardware controls for frequently used dictation functions. Depending on the connected device, supported button functions include microphone control and selected correction functions. Real-time dictation at the cursor is available through the desktop application, while SpeechLive web supports pre-recorded audio uploads and established SpeechLive workflows.

Legal Direct and Professional Direct complement the Philips SpeechLive AI Assistants, which provide a separate workflow for AI-assisted document creation. The Direct solutions focus on real-time speech recognition and voice-driven document control as a separate offering to AI-assisted drafting. Organizations can choose between speech recognition at cursor, established dictation and transcription workflows, or AI-assisted document drafting according to the requirements of each use case.

Designed for continuity, security and professional control

For organizations transitioning from established professional speech recognition tools, Legal Direct and Professional Direct are designed to retain familiar dictation behaviors while moving users into the broader SpeechLive environment.

Confidentiality and data protection are central considerations when adopting new documentation technology, particularly for legal organizations. Both solutions operate within the established SpeechLive security and data-protection framework, including Microsoft Azure infrastructure, service-region data residency, access controls and recognized organizational certifications (ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001). Data processing is subject to applicable privacy and data protection requirements, including GDPR. Recognized text remains under professional control and can be reviewed, corrected, and finalized by the user before being used in legal or business documentation.

Availability

Philips SpeechLive Legal Direct and Philips SpeechLive Professional Direct are available now, in markets where SpeechLive is commercially offered, subject to supported recognition languages, product availability and technical requirements. Supported recognition languages include English (UK), English (US), French, German, Austrian German and Swiss German, with availability dependent on region, configuration and product release.

About Speech Processing Solutions

Speech Processing Solutions is a global leader in voice-driven documentation, with more than 70 years of innovation in professional speech technology. Under the Philips brand, SPS provides professional dictation hardware, SpeechLive software, specialized speech recognition and AI-assisted documentation solutions used by more than four million users across 50+ countries.

Philips SpeechLive Legal Direct – legal speech recognition, directly at cursor