Breaking Records at a Young Age: A Look into F1’s Youngest Drivers

The new generation of Formula 1 drivers is proving that youth has no bounds, with young racers claiming victories and even world championship titles. In the 2025 season, Mercedes‘ Andrea Kimi Antonelli continues this trend, but how does he compare to F1’s youngest record breakers?

Who Holds the Title of F1’s Youngest Driver?

The conversation about young talent was sparked by Antonelli’s impressive lap ahead of the Miami Grand Prix sprint. However, his achievement doesn’t officially qualify him as F1’s youngest polesitter. So, who holds this record?

In the 1980s, the average age of an F1 driver was around 32, but now it has dropped to approximately 27 due to drivers like Haas’ Oliver Bearman racing their first grand prix at 18 years, 306 days old. However, Bearman doesn’t hold the record for F1’s youngest driver.

That title goes to Max Verstappen, who entered the 2015 Australian Grand Prix for Torro Rosso at just 17 years and 166 days old.

Who is F1’s Youngest Pole Sitter?

Antonelli may have set a fast lap in sprint qualifying, but he doesn’t hold the title of F1’s youngest pole sitter… yet. The record is currently held by Sebastian Vettel after his impressive lap in a wet qualifying for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

At just 21 years and 72 days, Vettel lapped the track at Monza in 1m37.555s, making him officially F1’s youngest ever pole sitter.

Who is F1’s Youngest Race Leader?

Another record held by a driver on the current grid is the prestigious title of F1’s youngest ever race leader – and it was actually set earlier this year. During the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, Antonelli led 10 laps during his first stint on the medium tyres.

At the age of just 18 years and 224 days, the Italian set the new record for F1’s youngest race leader.

Who is F1’s Youngest Race Winner?

If Vettel was the youngest F1 pole sitter in F1 history and Antonelli the youngest race leader, you might expect one of them to be the youngest race winner as well, right? Well, they aren’t. Instead, it’s another familiar name on this list: Verstappen.

Just a year after making his debut for Toro Rosso, Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull senior team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. A collision between the leading pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg paved the way for Verstappen’s first win at just 18 years and 228 days old.

Who is F1’s Youngest World Champion?

It’s one thing to win a race at 18 years old, but it’s another to beat the entire F1 field to the world title. With this in mind, it’s Vettel who claims the crown for youngest F1 world champion. The German claimed his first crown with Red Bull back in 2010, two years on from his inaugural race win.

At the time, Vettel was just 23 years and 134 days old, which meant he beat the previous record set by Hamilton by just 166 days.