The youngest Formula 1 race winners of all time including Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel

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At the age of 17 years and 166 days, Max Verstappen became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history when he made his debut in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

Red Bull signed the Dutchman after watching him closely in the junior ranks, and they even promoted him straight into F1 from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with their junior team, Toro Rosso (known today as Racing Bulls).

Helmut Marko felt Verstappen had the maturity to make the step to F1 at such a young age. Finishing 12th in his debut season, Red Bull knew that they had a super talent on their hands.

But they, and perhaps even Verstappen himself, did not expect him to have success so quickly in his career. After four races in 2016, the Dutchman was promoted to Red Bull, replacing Daniil Kvyat.

He made his debut for the main Red Bull team in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. And after Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed on the first lap, Verstappen marched to his first F1 victory. With it, he set a record that he still holds to this day.

Max Verstappen is Formula 1’s youngest-ever race winner ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli

At 18 years, seven months and 15 days old, Verstappen’s maiden win for Red Bull made him the youngest ever winner of a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

He surpassed fellow Red Bull product and four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who had set the previous record in 2009.

The German won his maiden F1 race at the rain-soaked 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, in what was also Red Bull’s first one-two finish in their history. Vettel went on to win his four world championships between 2010 and 2013, displaying utter dominance.

It took a decade from Verstappen’s maiden win before F1 saw another teenager stand atop a Grand Prix podium for the first time. Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Chinese GP for Mercedes in his 26th race in Formula 1, after debuting in 2025.

Antonelli’s win also pushed Charles Leclerc down as the fourth-youngest winner in history at 21 years, 10 months and 16 days with his victory for Ferrari in the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix. That same year, he became the second-youngest pole sitter in only his second race for the Scuderia.

Fernando Alonso is fifth with his win in Hungary in 2003. Troy Ruttman grabbed the earliest win on this list at Indianapolis in 1952, while the Indy 500 was still a part of the F1 calendar.

Bruce McLaren, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Kimi Raikkonen, who all went on to race for McLaren, are next on the list.

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Will Max Verstappen’s record ever be beaten?

Given the subsequent rule changes in F1, including needing to be 18 years old to obtain an FIA superlicence without special dispensation, Verstappen’s record for being the youngest F1 race winner will likely never be beaten.

It was possible in 2025 with Antonelli, as the Mercedes driver could have surpassed Verstappen’s record if he had won in the opening three races of the season. However, he finished fourth on debut in Melbourne and sixth in Shanghai and Suzuka.

It was also possible in 2026 with Arvid Lindblad, but the Briton had to win one of his first two F1 races in Australia and China to beat Verstappen’s feat. The Red Bull product debuted for Racing Bulls in the 2026 Australian GP and secured P8, before finishing P12 in the Chinese GP.

Interestingly, Verstappen has urged young drivers to take their time on their journey to F1. He has warned them not to rush into racing and to progress at their own pace, highlighting just how unlikely it is that his record will ever be broken.