Lando Norris hailed the "insane job" Kimi Antonelli has done as the 20-year-old Italian takes over from the British driver as Formula One world champion.

Lando Norris hailed the "insane job" Kimi Antonelli has done as the 20-year-old Italian takes over from the British driver as Formula One world champion.

Antonelli secured his place in history as F1's youngest ever champion by finishing third in Mexico City on Sunday.

He has blown his competition out of the water, to seal the title with four scheduled rounds still remaining.

Norris, who had to come through a final-race battle to clinch his maiden championship in Abu Dhabi last season, believes Antonelli deserves more accolades for his title-winning display.

"He's done an insane job. I feel like people are not giving him enough credit for what he has achieved this year," Norris said.

"He has beaten his team-mate (George Russell) who has been in the sport for four or five times longer than him. Who is also very good and took the battle to Lewis (Hamilton, at Mercedes).

"I think people say 'he has not had much competition'. That's because he has slapped his competition!

"He's made it look too easy, like an easy year. If you can make anything look easy nowadays you've done an unbelievable job."

Antonelli, then 18, was chosen to replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes having joined the team as a 12-year-old.

Hamilton, who watched the Italian rise through the ranks, is proud of what Antonelli has achieved.

"I think for me, to see a youngster such as Kimi come through from being the little kid standing in the back of the garage, to replacing me at a team that I've loved and worked for many, many years and then this year where he's just been faultless throughout, I think it's really, really great to see," Hamilton said.

"Records are there to be broken, you know. What he's been able to do at such a young age. He's just got such a bright future ahead of him. So, I'm grateful that I can be racing in the time to see it."