To put it into perspective, Kimi is precisely, magically, just one single day younger than me. While I navigate everyday life, this absolute titan became the youngest World Drivers’ Champion in F1 history at just 20 years and 68 days old, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s old record.

He is the first driver ever to lift the crown before turning 21, single-handedly shattering Italy’s championship drought and bringing the title back home.

You can picture the paddock scene from 2025: the interview soundbite of sceptics muttering that he is too young for a top seat, followed immediately by Toto Wolff’s iconic smirk from the pit wall, entirely aware that his golden boy was about to terrorise the field.

Kimi’s record-shattering run did not materialise out of thin air in Mexico. Throughout the season, while he ruled the top of the standings, the paddock became a breeding ground for pure gossip and garage politics. Naturally, conspiracy theories and jokes ran wild regarding whether Mercedes threw its full weight behind Kimi over George Russell. This was especially true during weekends where George suddenly looked untouchable, fuelling the paddock joke that George only flies when Toto is busy elsewhere.

Looking across the grid under the new rulebook, everyone scrambled to find an edge. Ferrari turned up with a bizarre, innovative rear wing design that had rival engineers squinting through binoculars.

But even with the red cars, Lewis Hamilton’s talk-of-the-town switch to Maranello did not deliver the fairytale eighth title he wanted. Finding himself in the top-three mix, Lewis took pole position and finished second in Mexico, yet still watched another crown slip through his fingers, leaving the eternal paddock whisper: does he regret swapping Brackley for the red sea of Tifosi?

His teammate, Charles Leclerc, drove with heart-on-sleeve speed, delivering moments of magic that kept Ferrari right in the fight for the runner-up spot in the constructors’ fight.

Over at McLaren, the reality check proved harsh. Lando Norris fought valiantly, but after leading the charge previously, he ultimately watched the title dream slip away. To his credit, Lando’s quick acceptance of his fate showed maturity.

His teammate, Oscar Piastri, came into the year hoping to build on his strong campaign from before. Unfortunately, reality hit hard. After a bruising mix of missed results and a car that lost its development speed under the new rules, Piastri’s championship challenge faded as the autumn flyaways approached.

Red Bull became a one-man survival show as usual. Max Verstappen dragged a stubbornly difficult car – also known as a tractor by many fans – by the scruff of its neck, putting on masterclasses, including a brilliant win in Mexico, to secure second in the drivers’ standings.

It remains rare to see Red Bull lose their grip on the front so early, but Max squeezed every drop of performance out of the chassis. On the other side of the garage, Isack Hadjar stepped up into the senior team, holding his own inside the top ten points-paying positions while adapting to life alongside the Dutch maestro.

Further down, the midfield turned into an absolute slugfest. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls fielded rookie Arvid Lindblad alongside Liam Lawson, with Lawson leading the intra-team charge while Arvid gained crucial rookie experience lower down the standings. Meanwhile, the midfield battle featured Pierre Gasly wrestling underfunded Alpine machinery with grit, frequently dragging cars into the top ten on pure merit. Williams, featuring Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, traded blows in tactical wars, where race strategies felt more like roulette wheels than engineering plans.

Haas rolled the dice with Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon, though the garage saw friction. With Ocon heading towards the exit door, the team locked in their future by signing Ferrari junior and rising star Rafael Câmara to step up as the grid’s newest rookie arrival.

Elsewhere, Audi continued laying foundational blocks with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Aston Martin navigated a turbulent year where Fernando Alonso’s future sparked silly-season speculation before he decided to stay put. Over at the brand-new Cadillac outfit, Sergio Pérez brought a mountain of veteran experience to anchor their debut campaign alongside Valtteri Bottas, giving the newest team on the grid a fighting chance as strategic chess matches across the pit wall dictated results.

So there we have it. A 20-year-old kid who happens to be younger than me by literally a single day has permanently rewritten history, Mercedes is sitting comfortably on top of the world, and the rest of us are left utterly spellbound by a season of brilliant chaos.