Sam Bird thinks Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a “deserved” Formula 1 champion after winning the 2026 title with four rounds to spare, but circumstances certainly “helped” the Mercedes ace to lift his first crown.

Antonelli wrapped up the 2026 F1 drivers’ title to become the youngest-ever champion in round 19 out of 23 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. His third-place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was enough for the 20-year-old to go 119 points clear at the top of the standings, with a maximum of 100 still available.

Sam Bird thinks Kimi Antonelli has not faced ‘any massive adversity’ during his 2026 F1 title win

Antonelli has also earned 16 podiums from 19 Grands Prix, of which he has won nine. No other driver has secured more than three Grand Prix wins this season, with Verstappen and Russell winning three races so far, Norris a two-time race winner and Hamilton and Leclerc both one-time race winners so far this season.

Yet former McLaren Formula E driver Bird believes Antonelli has also been fortunate in that he has not had to deal with “any massive adversity” during his 2026 title-winning season.

Bird said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3: “[It has been a] brilliant season by Kimi Antonelli, and well overdue for Italy. He’s shown George Russell a clean pair of heels all season, and he’s the deserved world champion.

“I think Antonelli has almost had a bit of a free hit this year. He’s so young, he hasn’t experienced in his life or career any massive adversity. OK, he had that crash at Monza when he was coming up and Toto Wolff put his arm around him, and he then got the seat.

“He had a slightly difficult period last year, but he’s not had to overcome any major crashes, anything difficult in his personal life, so I think that has kind of helped him. As brilliant as he’s been, there has been a kind of beauty in the naivety of it all.”

Antonelli crashed in FP3 at the 2026 F1 season-opener in Australia, and he encountered reliability issues in Barcelona (battery) and Britain (broken wheel shield). But he bounced back from destroying his car during the final practice session in Melbourne to qualify in P2 and also finish P2, before then securing five consecutive wins.

Some fortune has helped, as Russell’s reliability issues during qualifying cleared the way for Antonelli to get his first pole in F1 in China during round two, and the Briton then battling the Ferrari pair of Hamilton and Leclerc helped the Italian to also take his first win.

Russell has clearly endured more misfortune than Antonelli this year, with his battery failure while leading in Canada and straight-line speed problems in Britain and Belgium the biggest examples. But Antonelli has only really put a foot wrong when it mattered when he crashed during Q1 in Azerbaijan under no pressure.

A minor mistake proved costly in Baku, as Antonelli crashed out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP when he turned in too early for Turn 1 and tagged the inside wall. He still managed to put the mistake behind him to salvage P5 in the Azerbaijan GP, for what remains his only points-scoring finish not on a podium this season.