Kimi Antonelli will almost certainly cement his place in Formula One history by winning his first drivers' championship at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.
Antonelli, as even those living in the remotest valleys and islands of Italy must surely be aware by now, can become F1's youngest champion at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as well as the first Italian to take the crown since 1953.
Now 123 points clear at the top of the standings and winner of half the 18 races this season, Antonelli needs only to finish in the top nine and it's job done. If Mercedes teammate George Russell or Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton fail to win, it will be the same outcome.
If Antonelli wins on Sunday, he will become the youngest world champion at 20 years and 68 days. But whose record will he break? Below are the five youngest F1 champions in history.
5 Emerson Fittipaldi (1972)
Age: 25 years, 273 days
Moving up from Formula Two, Fittipaldi made his debut for Lotus as a third driver at the 1970 British Grand Prix. After Jochen Rindt was killed at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, the Brazilian became Lotus' lead driver in only his fifth GP. He became the sport's youngest champion in 1972 and later won another championship with McLaren.
4 Max Verstappen (2021)
Age: 24 years, 73 days
Verstappen was a motorsport prodigy long earmarked for the top. He made his F1 debut as a 17-year-old in 2015 and won his first race aged 18. Lewis Hamilton's dominance meant he had to wait for his first title, which eventually arrived controversially in Abu Dhabi in 2021 as he pipped the Briton on the final lap at Yas Marina Circuit.
3 Fernando Alonso (2005)
Age: 24 years, 58 days
Spanish star Alonso was once the golden boy of F1, and in 2005 he became the sport's youngest champion since Fittipaldi. Alonso's breakthrough moment also interrupted the long and increasingly predictable stranglehold of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari on the title. Alonso is still on the grid with Aston Martin more than two decades later.
2 Lewis Hamilton (2008)
Age: 23 years, 300 days
Hamilton was another rising star whose reputation preceded him. He claimed his first F1 title in just his second season, having come close in 2007 before technical problems scuppered him in the final race in Brazil. The McLaren man made up for it 12 months later with a dramatic final-lap victory earning him the silverware.
1 Sebastian Vettel (2010)
Age: 23 years, 134 days
Sebastian Vettel became Hamilton's chief rival, and for a period he was the dominant driver in F1. In 2010, he became the youngest title winner ever as he delivered Red Bull's first crown. It was the first of four in a row for the German.
