New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- Italy woke up on Monday rejoicing at the nation's first Formula 1 world champion in 73 years.

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest champion in F1 history on Sunday, when the Mercedes driver finished third in the Mexico City Grand Prix to clinch the title with four races to spare.

And it doesn't matter that the 20-year-old doesn't drive for Ferrari - the country's biggest racing brand, with its legions of passionate, red-clad "tifosi."

Nearly all of Italy's newspapers had a photo of Antonelli on the front page. Some used the picture of him on the shoulders of former champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, while others just had Antonelli and the Italian flag.

"Italy cried, smiled, cried with him," La Repubblica -...