Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest-ever world champion at just 20 years old on Sunday, sealing the title with a third-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver’s podium also ended Italy’s 73-year wait for an F1 world champion and made him the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Max Verstappen won the dramatic, red-flag-interrupted race, and Lewis Hamilton finished second. Antonelli’s podium finish was enough to secure an unassailable lead in the drivers’ standings, and the title came with it.

A Teenager’s Title Run Ends an Italian Drought

Antonelli’s achievement is the kind of record that rewrites the sport’s history books. He is now the youngest driver to lift the world championship in Formula 1, a mark that stands alone. For Italy, it is a seven-decade-plus wait finally over. The country had not produced a world champion since Ascari, and that long gap made Antonelli’s title feel like more than a personal milestone.

The race itself gave the day its drama. A red flag interrupted the Mexico City Grand Prix, but the young Mercedes driver kept his head and finished on the podium when it counted most.

India Win the T20I Series, Then Lose the Final Two

India clinched the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 3-2, even though they lost the last two encounters. The visitors built a strong start to the series, and Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer stood out in the final game.

The fifth T20I told a different story. Put in to bat, India recovered from early setbacks through Kishan, who made 61, and captain Iyer, who scored 50, to post 191 for eight. New Zealand chased it down comfortably with two overs remaining. A crucial dropped catch of Tim Seifert proved costly, and Seifert, alongside Glenn Phillips, punished the Indian bowling.

Despite losing that match by seven wickets, the series was already in India’s hands. The result stood as a 3-2 series win.

Record Sixes and a Milestone for Kishan

The fifth T20I also carried a world record. India became the first team in T20I history to hit 400 sixes in a single calendar year, reaching the mark when Naman Dhir hit a maximum off Blair Tickner. Across 40 T20Is in 2026, the side smashed those 400 sixes, led by Abhishek Sharma with 86, Kishan with 60, and Sanju Samson with 50. That tally left distant rivals such as Austria and the West Indies well behind.

Kishan’s innings carried a personal landmark as well. His 61 off 32 balls, his first score since returning from injury, took him past 2,000 T20I runs. He reached the mark in 1,345 deliveries, making him India’s third-fastest batter to the milestone in terms of balls faced. Only Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav have got there faster.

Sindhu and Lakshya Complete a Badminton Double

India enjoyed a double triumph at the HYLO Open 2026 in Saarbrucken, Germany, with PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen winning the women’s and men’s singles titles.

Sindhu beat Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 to become the first Indian woman to win the tournament. Lakshya was just as dominant. He beat defending champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-17, 21-10 to claim his first BWF title of the year, and he became the first Indian to win two HYLO Open titles.

Together, the badminton results added another successful chapter to India’s international campaign, and they arrived on the same day as the motorsport and cricket headlines.

Ahead of the ODIs, a Thinned-Out Squad and a Bold Coach

Head coach Gautam Gambhir was candid about the bowling group heading into the ODI series against New Zealand. He backed his young and inexperienced attack and described it as one of the most inexperienced lineups in ODI history. Outside Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj, there are few experienced pacers in the group. Gambhir said any success on the tour should be credited directly to those young bowlers, and he pointed to the challenge of managing a transition phase alongside demanding schedules across multiple formats.

One of the most inexperienced lineups in ODI history, and any success on this tour should be credited directly to the young bowlers.

New Zealand, meanwhile, has taken a major hit before the five-match ODI series. Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra have both been ruled out to preserve their fitness for the upcoming Test series. Tim Seifert and Matthew Fisher will play the entire series, Henry Nicholls has been recalled for the first three ODIs, and Dean Foxcroft joins for the final two. Fast bowler Matt Henry also returns to the squad.

Australia Rest Their Stars for England

Australia have also named their squads for the white-ball series against England. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood are rested to manage workloads ahead of the Test season. Mitchell Marsh will captain both the three-match ODI squad and the five-match T20I squad. With several multi-format players rested and others sidelined by injury, selectors have called up fresh faces and uncapped youngsters, including Mahli Beardman, Oliver Peake, and Sam Harper.

One Day, Three Stories, Plenty to Chase

A single Sunday produced a motorsport record, a cricket series win built on a world-record hitting year, and a badminton double. Antonelli’s title alone would have headlined any sports bulletin. Pair it with India’s sixes record and the Sindhu and Lakshya victories, and November 2 becomes a day that sports fans will keep coming back to.