From debutants to future team founders – the top 10 youngest Grand Prix winners in F1 history after Kimi Antonelli wins in China

Another exceptional chapter was written in the Formula 1 history books last weekend, after Kimi Antonelli recorded his first Grand Prix win following a sensational display in Shanghai.

His victory in China saw Antonelli became the first Italian to win a Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella’s Malaysian win 20 years ago.

But how does Antonelli’s achievement rank compared to the sport’s youngest ever winners?

The Italian is one of six drivers from the current F1 grid to make the list, alongside former World Champions and team founders, so let’s take a look at the top 10 youngest Grand Prix winners in history.

Kimi Raikkonen – Malaysia 2003 (23 years 5 months)

Like Antonelli in 2026, it was the second race of the season when McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen scored his first win, in only his 36th race, at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen started the race from seventh and quickly found himself up to fourth, before overtaking Nick Heidfeld for third and moving ahead of team mate David Coulthard – who retired with an electrical failure – on Lap 3.

The Finn began hunting down Fernando Alonso for first, who pitted on Lap 14 to give Raikkonen the lead until he pitted just five laps later.

The 23-year-old came back out ahead of Alonso but behind Rubens Barichello, retaking the lead when the Brazilian stopped on Lap 22. By the time Raikkonen made his final stop, he was 53 seconds clear and retained the lead, going on to win by 39.2 seconds over Barrichello.

Oscar Piastri – Hungary 2024 (23 years 4 months)

Oscar Piastri was a month younger than Raikkonen when he won his first Grand Prix – he also won it one race earlier in his career.

Piastri qualified second behind McLaren team mate Lando Norris at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Australian was quick off the line to take the lead.

Controversy threatened during the final round of pit stops when McLaren decided to bring Norris in before Piastri to defend against a potential overtake from Lewis Hamilton – ultimately handing the lead to Norris when Piastri pitted shortly after.

However, Norris was told to let Piastri past and, despite initially seeming reluctant to do so, let the Australian move ahead on Lap 68 to claim his maiden victory and a first McLaren 1-2 in three years.

Lewis Hamilton – Canada 2007 (22 years 5 months)

Hamilton has seven World Championships and 105 Grand Prix wins, but even his story started somewhere – his first win came at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix at just 22 years old.

It was his debut season in F1, and at the sixth event on the calendar the Briton secured his first pole and dominated the early stages of an incident-filled race.

His consistent pace throughout four Safety Car periods helped him pull clear of Heidfeld to win by more than four seconds.

The then-McLaren driver went on to win in the United States, Hungary and Japan in his first season, and took second place in the Drivers’ Championship in his rookie year.

Bruce McLaren – United States 1959 (22 years 3 months)

Just two months younger than Hamilton when he won his first Grand Prix was McLaren founder Bruce McLaren, at the 1959 United States Grand Prix.

The New Zealander picked up the victory at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, finishing ahead of Cooper team mate Maurice Trintignant by just 0.6 seconds.

At the time, the win made him the youngest driver in history to win a Formula 1 race – a record he held for more than 40 years.

McLaren also won the Argentinian Grand Prix in 1960 and the Monaco Grand Prix of 1962 for Cooper, before deciding to set up his own team and win the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.

Not long after, he quit racing to focus on providing opportunities for other drivers – a successful move that has resulted in 13 Drivers’ Championship titles with eight different drivers to date.

Troy Ruttman – Indianapolis 1952 (22 years 2 months)

Next up is Troy Ruttman, who won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 when the race was part of the F1 World Championship.

He remains a relatively unknown name amongst F1 fans, as back then some drivers only raced at Indianapolis and did not compete in the rest of the Formula 1 season – although Ruttman did go on to compete in the 1958 French Grand Prix.

Ruttman retired from motorsport in 1964 when he was just 34-years-old, but remains the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner to this day.

Fernando Alonso – Hungary 2003 (22 years 26 days)

Alonso continues to be one of the biggest names in F1 today, though his first Grand Prix victory came 23 years ago at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard started the race as the youngest-ever polesitter, and raced into a clear lead while Raikkonen desperately tried to stay within touching distance.

With 10 laps to go, Alonso pushed hard and asserted his dominance by lapping the great Michael Schumacher to establish a commanding lead.

Alonso crossed the finish line 17 seconds ahead of Raikkonen that day, later scoring a further 31 Grand Prix wins and becoming a two-time World Champion.

Charles Leclerc – Belgium 2019 (21 years 10 months)

The 2019 Belgium Grand Prix weekend is one that Charles Leclerc will remember forever.

Not only did he win his first Grand Prix, he also lost his friend Anthoine Hubert in a tragic accident during a Formula 2 race the day before.

A minute of silence was observed ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, before Leclerc made a powerful start from pole to lead until pitting after 21 laps – coming out behind Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel began to suffer tyre degradation and Leclerc retook the lead before Hamilton fought back, but the Ferrari driver held on to secure his maiden victory – also becoming the first Monegasque driver to win in F1.

Sebastian Vettel – Italy 2008 (21 years 2 months)

Back in 2008, Vettel was another F1 driver who celebrated his first pole position and Grand Prix win on the same weekend – before also going on to become a multiple World Champion.

It was the 2008 Italian Grand Prix and the race started under the Safety Car due to wet weather, with the conditions allowing the German to show his skills while establishing a healthy lead.

He controlled the race throughout and crossed the finish line over 12 seconds ahead of Heikki Kovalainen, becoming the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix up to that point.

The result was also a first win for Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), who became the first non-Ferrari Italian-based team to take F1 victory since 1957.

Kimi Antonelli – China 2026 (19 years 6 months)

Antonelli’s stunning performance in Shanghai, where he battled team mate Russell and the Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Hamilton at the start before taking the win, puts him second in this list.

The 19-year-old kept his composure and showed experience beyond his years to take the chequered flag five seconds ahead of the remaining Mercedes – despite a nervous moment after running deep at the Turn 14 hairpin with four laps remaining.

Fighting back tears afterwards, an emotional Antonelli said: “I’m super happy. I said I really wanted to bring Italy back on top and we did.”

Max Verstappen – Spain 2016 (18 years 7 months)

The current record holder for the youngest F1 driver to win a Grand Prix is four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, who was only 18-years-old when he crossed the finish line as a winner for the first time.

At the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix Verstappen was making his debut for Red Bull, qualifying in fourth behind team mate Daniel Ricciardo and the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

An early crash between Hamilton and Rosberg took both out of the race, and the Dutch driver took the lead when Ricciardo boxed to become the youngest driver to ever lead a race.

Despite his young age, Verstappen showed his extraordinary talent throughout and held off the Ferrari of Raikkonen to take the chequered flag by just 0.6 seconds.