India, Nov. 4 -- For two years everyone invoked patience, citing his age. As it has turned out, "age no bar" truly holds for Formula One world championships. On November 1, at 20 years and 68 days, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest F1 champ. To be sure, his Mercedes was the best car on the grid. His incredible journey, though, from becoming the European Karting champion in 2021 to the F1 champion in 2026 speaks, besides talent, of rare resilience, too.

Antonelli had the pick of F1 driver academy offers in his inbox at 13, and after winning five karting championships - including back-to-back European titles - he chose Mercedes. His reasoning that they had no one else his age got him into the driver's seat early. It also allowed him to ad...