Max Vertstappen scored his third victory of the season at the Mexico City Grand Prix while Kimi Antonelli achieved his dream result by taking the 2026 Formula 1 world championship with a P3 finish.
Kimi Antonelli has written history by becoming the sport’s youngest-ever world champion at Mexico, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to win the race.
Verstappen seized control of the race during the only pitstop of the race on lap 28 of 71, jumping ahead of leader Charles Leclerc, and he fended off Leclerc’s teammate Hamilton to take victory, with Antonelli celebrating his maiden title success with a podium spot in third position.
With neither Russell nor Hamilton winning the Mexico Grand Prix, Antonelli’s race result was secured, but he underlined his mature title winning campaign with a controlled drive as he picked off Leclerc in the second half of the race.
At the start, polesitter Hamilton was challenged by Leclerc for the lead into Turn 2 and again towards Turn 4-5. Leclerc cut the grass to pass his teammate as Hamilton lost momentum to third-placed Verstappen as well, who took advantage of the tussle to take second away from Hamilton.
“I got pushed off by my own teammate,” Hamilton commented, as Verstappen was also complaining for Leclerc to hand back the position. The Ferrari driver only received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which was deemed rather soft by both Verstappen and his own teammate: “He’s got clean air, he doesn’t have to manage like the rest of us,” Hamilton pointed out.
In the background, Isack Hadjar was pushed off by slow-starting George Russell, who had dropped from second to sixth and was handed a ten-second time penalty.
To Hamilton’s point, Leclerc soon pulled out a five-second gap to second-placed Verstappen – the Red Bull driver only frontrunner to start on medium tyres instead of softs. Hamilton trailed by another couple of seconds ahead of the Silver Arrows and the Papaya cars. A strong start from Oscar Piastri saw him move up from a disappointing P12 grid slot to seventh, seven seconds behind the top runners.
Leclerc and Verstappen both pitted on lap 28 for their only pitstop, with Leclerc moving to mediums and Verstappen switching to softs. Helped by Leclerc’s additional five-second penalty, Verstappen was able to jump the Ferrari in pitlane to take charge of the race, despite the tyre compound.
“We basically need one of your magic Mexico stints,” said Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, as Hamilton’s next-lap response by collecting mediums dropped the leading trio to fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
It handed Antonelli a brief moment in clear air at the front from Russell and Lando Norris, with Mercedes not having any real strategic options to challenge for the win – not that Antonelli would have minded one bit while on title course.
Antonelli was the last from that offset trio to enter into the pits by lap 44, well over the halfway mark of the 71-lap race, demonstrating Red Bull had no issue to worry about regarding the durability of the soft tyre.
But just as Antonelli had pitted, giving up on the possibility of a safety car, Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac hit the wall at Turn 1 with a left-front suspension failure, bringing out not just a safety car but a red flag. Bottas was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks and was released without injuries.
Following a nearly 40-minute red flag for barrier repairs, the race resumed with a standard restart with Verstappen leading from Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, Russell and Piastri – all on a set of soft tyres. On the lap 47 restart, Verstappen was forced to defend against Hamilton, who enjoyed a great launch off the line to move past Leclerc into second.
As Leclerc locked up into Turn 1, Verstappen resisted Hamilton’s advances through Mexico’s first sector, the only real overtaking opportunity. But Hamilton continued to apply pressure to the leading Red Bull.
Antonelli did not want to celebrate his title success off the Foro Sol podium and move his way past Leclerc for third in Turn on lap 48. Suffering a flat spot from his restart lock-up Leclerc continued as he was then pressurised by Norris in the battle for fourth.
The race would receive another late drama when Arvid Lindblad crashed out of seventh after contact with Piastri, bringing out another safety car.
That reset allowed Hamilton, who had been dropping out of Verstappen’s slipstream, another chance to challenge for the win away from his old title rival when the racing resumed on lap 65.
But despite applying pressure on Verstappen lap after lap, Hamilton ran out of options and had to settle for second as Verstappen took his third Grand Prix victory of the season, and third in four races.
An emotional Antonelli crossed the finish in third to win the drivers’ world championship, beating Sebastian Vettel’s age record by three full years aged 20.
Leclerc hung onto fourth ahead of Norris, Russell and Piastri. Franco Colapinto took eighth as best of the rest, with Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top ten.
As well as retirements for Lindblad and Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman was forced to stop with suspension damage after being taken out by Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 4 on the restart.
The Aston Martins suffered another character-building session as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were parked after just seven laps with new Honda power unit problems.
So congratulations to Andrea Kimi Antonelli in winning the world championship in only his second Formula 1 season in the pinnacle of motor racing. It is quite incredible that the Mercedes driver achieved his first race victory back in China in the early part of the season and now he is world champion. What an awesome achievement.
As for Max Verstappen, what a drive from P5 on the original starting grid to finish in P1 for Red Bull. That’s another top result for the four-time champion.
Mexico City Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford 2:20:28.772
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.799s
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +4.006s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +10.707s
5 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes +11.778s
6 George Russell Mercedes +12.263s
7 Oscar Piasti McLaren-Mercedes +19.475s
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes +20.204s
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Ford +20.899s
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes +21.483s
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +22.041s
12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Ford +22.503s
13 Ryo Hirakawa Haas-Ferrari +25.373s
14 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes +27.562s
15 Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes +28.638s
16 Nico Huldenberg Audi +29.977s
17 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari +30.695s
Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford DNF
Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari DNF
Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari DNF
Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda DNF
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda DNF
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion as third place in the Mexico City Grand Prix was enough for the Mercedes driver to claim the 2026 crown, with Max Verstappen taking race victory from Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli entered Sunday’s 71-lap race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez needing only to finish ninth to claim a maiden F1 title, regardless of where rivals Hamilton and Mercedes team mate George Russell finished.
The 20-year-old started fourth and eventually finished third in a race where the Italian had to deal with a mid-race red flag after a heavy accident for Valtteri Bottas and a late Safety Car following a crash for Arvid Lindblad.
Out in front, Verstappen claimed his third win of the season, the Red Bull driver withstanding late pressure from Hamilton to claim an unlikely win from fifth on the grid after being helped by an intense Ferrari intra-team battle.
Having jumped up to second on the opening lap, Verstappen took the lead after Charles Leclerc was handed a time penalty for cutting the track on the first lap when battling polesitter Hamilton.
The Dutchman then held the lead at the standing restart and maintained the lead again after the Safety Car was recalled with eight laps remaining, with Hamilton a constant threat.
Leclerc finished fourth after withstanding immense late pressure from Lando Norris’ McLaren, with George Russell (Mercedes), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls from the pit lane and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly completing the top 10.
Gabriel Bortoleto was P11 for Audi, ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar who was tipped into a spin by Russell on the opening lap, with Ryo Hirakawa finishing P13 for Haas on his F1 debut after a mid-weekend call-up.
Alex Albon headed Williams team mate Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg was P16 after a 10-second penalty for a collision with Ollie Bearman ahead of home hero Sergio Perez, the Cadillac driver the last of the classified runners.
Lindblad crashed out at Turn 2 after a late collision with Piastri, Bearman retired after contact from Hulkenberg, while Bottas and the two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso retired.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-crowned-youngest-ever-f1-champion-as-verstappen-wins-eventful-mexico-city-grand-prix.xpMMeef0KmRURs9IDs3LH
Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli paid a tearful tribute to Mercedes as he became grand prix racing’s youngest-ever title winner in Mexico.
Antonelli took third at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez after a controlled driver to his maiden title, beating Sebastian Vettel’s previous record by three years as he became the youngest driver to do so aged 20.
With neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton winning the race, Antonelli didn’t even have to finish to seal the crown, but he underlined his dominant campaign with a composed race, treating himself to a podium celebration at a packed Foro Sol by picking off Charles Leclerc for third.
“Thank you so much, we did it,” Antonelli blurted out in between his copious tears as he crossed the line.
His race engineer Peter Bonnington responded: “Beautiful work, Kimi. It’s been a pleasure being part of the journey with you but this is just the first chapter.”
Climbing from his Mercedes W17, he shared an embrace with father, mother and sister before being mobbed by his mechanics and receiving a hug from team boss Toto Wolff.
“I wouldn’t be here without Mercedes, without my family,” Antonelli said. “I’m very grateful for this moment, and it’s one that will live forever, and I’m just speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.
“This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I’m just so happy and happy that we got it done, and then we can now we can enjoy the rest of the season.”
Antonelli shared the podium with winner Max Verstappen and his Mercedes predecessor Hamilton, who took second, the two best drivers of their generation. There is every chance that Antonelli will turn out to be the best of his. “It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible,” Antonelli acknowledged. “I’m looking forward to some more battles in the future.”
Four-time champion Verstappen commented: “It’s incredible, of course, what a season he had, and to do that also at such an age, I think it’s just really, really impressive. It’s amazing to see the whole team celebrating with him. His family is here as well, so I’m sure this is a very emotional day for him, and I’m very proud of him.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton added: “Youngest world champion ever. It’s pretty phenomenal, and I’m so grateful to be in the race to witness it.”
Antonelli became the first Italian world champion in 73 years, since Alberto Ascari in 1953. He is only the third Italian to achieve that accomplishment behind Giuseppe Farina (1950) and Ascari (1952, 1953).
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/emotional-kimi-antonelli-left-speechless-by-maiden-f1-world-title-in-mexico/10870739/
Lewis Hamilton has called for “serious talks” at Ferrari following his clash with team-mate Charles Leclerc in Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix.
Polesitter Hamilton was challenged by Leclerc from third after front-row starter George Russell lost momentum ahead of Turn 1. The seven-time world champion narrowly held off the sister car in the first corner sequence, but Leclerc launched an attack around the outside of Turn 4; as both cars went off, the Monegasque cut Turn 5 and retained the lead, while Hamilton lost momentum and was overtaken by Max Verstappen.
Leclerc’s race unravelled as he got a five-second penalty for the opening-lap incident – he did pull a five-second gap on Verstappen ahead of their first pitstop, but spent 6.3s more in the pitlane and lost the lead; at the second start following the red flag for Valtteri Bottas’ crash, he flat-spotted his tyres.
Meanwhile, Hamilton never found a way back past the Red Bull and finished second, eight tenths away from victory.
Part of the reason why Leclerc didn’t just cede the position back to Hamilton at the start was the fact he would have had to let Verstappen through, but this still infuriated the Briton.
“The problem is he’s got clean air, and doesn’t have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the place back,” Hamilton told his race engineer on the radio. A few laps later, he doubled down: “The stewards are basically handing Charles this win.”
By the time he was speaking in parc ferme, Hamilton had cooled down, but he still made it clear he was unhappy with the way things unfolded at Ferrari in Mexico.
“A tough day,” he said. “I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll take it offline and figure out what we can do in the background.
“In the drivers’ briefing, we discussed, as soon as you go off in Turn 1, you have to give the position back. Last year, I got a 10-second penalty for that same move that he did,” the Ferrari driver added, referring to his own attempt to overtake Verstappen around the outside in Turn 4 in 2025. “But ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today. I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes, for sure.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lewis-hamilton-demands-serious-talks-at-ferrari-after-charles-leclerc-clash-that-lost-us-the-win-to/10870745/
Kimi Antonelli has reacted to winning his maiden World Championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the Italian hiding none of his emotions as he thanked those around him for an “incredible season”.
Although it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who won the race ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s P3 finish earned him more than enough points to clinch the title, joining the likes of the Ferrari driver, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme in doing so at this circuit.
After starting from fourth on the grid, the 20-year-old improved to the top three via a bold overtake on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, which allowed him to celebrate his historic victory on the podium after embracing his family and Mercedes team members.
“We did it,” Antonelli said after the race. “You know, without them, I wouldn’t be here – without Mercedes, without my family. So I’m very grateful for this moment, and it’s one that will live forever. I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.
“It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And yeah, looking forward to some more battles in the future.
“This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I’m just so happy, and happy that we got it done, and now we can enjoy the rest of the season.”
Antonelli has not only become the sport’s youngest-ever World Champion, but also Italy’s first in 73 years after he netted 380 points over 19 rounds, which those behind him are mathematically unable to surpass in the season’s remaining events.
Reflecting further on his immense achievement, he added: “[It’s] a moment that means so much. It’s a day I will remember forever. Thank you so much to my team, my family, my friends, and all of you guys that support me and the sport. I’m just so grateful.
“Very early on, we had such a strong car, and we were very consistent and put in the performance. I thought that we could have had a shot this year, and I’m really happy that we managed to clinch it all.
“It’s starting to get real, and I’m going to enjoy every bit of it. I mean, I’m going to go all out, right? I’m going to go all out with my family, friends, and the team. And we’re just going to enjoy it all the way, because this is a very special moment, one that we’ll remember forever.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/this-moment-will-live-forever-antonelli-shares-touching-reaction-to-incredible-world-championship-victory-in-mexico-city.zU8TYn4f00R4YcOAfOK1m
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has delved into his controversial Mexico Grand Prix drive, more specifically the way he snatched – and retained – the lead from Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc challenged his polesitting team-mate for the lead at the start, with Hamilton holding him off over the first sequence of corners. The Monegasque then launched an attack around the outside of Turn 4, but while he was ahead at the apex, both cars went deep and ended up fully off the track.
Hamilton trundled back on track, losing a position to Max Verstappen, while Leclerc cut Turn 5 and stayed out in front. Having gained a lasting advantage from exceeding track limits, he was expected to let the sister car back through, but that would have entailed giving up a position to the Red Bull too.
In the end, Leclerc remained ahead of his rivals, copping a five-second penalty for the infringement.
“Lewis and I both tried to brake very late, we both didn’t make the corner, I obviously cut the track,” the Monegasque recounted.
“Eventually then after Turn 5 there was Max in between, which made the situation more confusing. And speaking with the team, I didn’t really have a clear feedback, and I think it was just confusing enough to keep the position, and I was expecting some kind of penalty. Then we paid the penalty.
“We spoke briefly with the team to try and understand [what to do]. I asked ‘What should I do now?’ It’s always very tricky – obviously in that situation you have to do something, but is it second, is it third? At the end I kept going. Obviously it’s going to be a bit of a talking point, for sure, next briefing.”
The decision drew the ire of Hamilton, who repeatedly complained to race engineer Carlo Santi on the radio. “The problem is he’s got clean air, and doesn’t have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the place back,” he said of Leclerc, before doubling down: “The stewards are basically handing Charles this win.”
Regardless of Leclerc’s controversial move to retain the lead, the intra-team incident came amid occasional friction between the Ferrari drivers this year.
Consequently asked about the rules of engagement at Ferrari, the 29-year-old played the situation down: “I mean, we are fighting for the win, so of course there’s going to be very little margin left from him and from me. [In] the end, we both did a mistake going into Turn 4, it’s not like we had contact or whatsoever. We both went straight and that gave the opportunity for Max to overtake.
“I don’t think it should be that much of a talking point. Of course it was close, Turn 1 to 3 was very close, but I was expecting it, [in a] fight for the lead. For [Turn] 5 we both made a mistake, I paid with a penalty, then you can argue whether it’s enough or not. And Lewis then paid out of [Turn] 5 with Max.”
Pressed on whether he and Hamilton needed more rules going forward, Leclerc pondered: “We will talk about it obviously. I don’t know if he was very unhappy with what I did because I felt like it was very much on the limit also what he did. I think he was maybe more angry with the whole situation, how the situation was dealt in [Turns] 4-5 with the penalty, etc. So this is something we’ll talk about for sure.”
From then on, Leclerc worked at pulling away from Verstappen in an attempt to mitigate the impact of his penalty. He brought the gap up to 5.243s at the end of lap 24, but by the time he pitted – with the Red Bull following him into the pits – the Dutchman had cut his deficit by a few tenths.
In the end, this made no difference to the outcome. Leclerc’s pitstop was 6.3s longer than Verstappen’s, with 1.3s unaccounted for by the penalty, so the four-time world champion comfortably took the lead.
Leclerc’s race went from bad to worse at the second start, following the red flag for Valtteri Bottas’ crash, with a hefty lock-up that damaged the SF-26’s tyres – especially the front-left.
“I think we had quite a good pace, but unfortunately on the second restart everything went a bit more difficult,” he lamented.
“There was quite a lot of marbles on the right side of the track, and when I went on the brake, even though I didn’t put a massive amount of brake pressure, I locked up straight away and I went to the cord of the tyres. So the last stint was very tricky.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-charles-leclerc-didnt-yield-mexico-gp-lead-after-cutting-turn-5/10870796/
Charles Leclerc has admitted the penalty he recieved for passing team mate Lewis Hamilton off track during an opening lap battle for the Mexico City Grand Prix lead was “deserved”.
The Ferrari pair tangled in Turn 4 after the race start as both cars went wide while jostling for position, with the Monegasque driver jumping ahead by going over the grass.
Instead of handing back the position, Leclerc opted to keep going though his decision was influenced by the presence of eventual race winner Max Verstappen who had slotted into second amid the Ferrari duo’s battle.
Hamilton was left frustrated with the move, despite Leclerc being hit with a five-second penalty, as he claimed over the radio that running in clean air negated the punishment. The seven-time World Champion eventually went on to reclaim positions on the race restart, and took second while Leclerc was left to settle for fourth on the road.
“The penalty was deserved in a way,” said Leclerc, reflecting on the incident after the race.
“The thing is that it was a bit confusing because we both didn’t make Turn 4. Then I stayed ahead, and then Max got past Lewis. So yeah, then I asked what should I do? And I kept the position and took a deserved penalty.”
While a standard penalty for such an incident is often a 10-second penalty, the stewards decided the mitigating factors were sufficient enough to reduce the size of the penalty awarded. “The baseline penalty guideline is 10 seconds, however in mitigation is the fact that car 44 (Hamilton) was also off track on the inside of car 16 (Leclerc) and this occurred early in the first lap,” read the decision document explaining the call.
With Hamilton continuing to voice his disgruntlement over the radio, Leclerc insisted he would speak to his team mate and the rest of the team about what happened.
“I think we both didn’t make the corner,” he continued. “I don’t know if Lewis’ point was for me to get P3. But at least having a Red Bull in second, I felt it was worth it to kind of keep the position and see what happens. That’s what I did.”
The Monegasque was also adamant that the incident was part of racing, adding: “I mean, I could also be unhappy with how much he pushed me off the track out of Turn 1. But I think it’s racing. When you are fighting for a win, it’s the way it should be.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/leclerc-concedes-he-deserved-penalty-over-hamilton-clash-in-mexico-city-gp.4rYJb2xww8myo1gtgBV5pV
Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly have lost their respective P8 and P10 finishes at the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the Alpine pair penalised after the race for separate yellow flag infringements.
The Frenchman had outqualified his team mate at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but it was Colapinto who enjoyed the better start and improved from P11 to P7 over the opening laps.
Although they managed the 71-lap affair well to secure a hard-fought double points finish for Alpine, they were later summoned to the stewards for failing to slow under yellow flags – Colapinto doing so in a single yellow sector, and Gasly in a double.
Their subsequent penalties – 10 seconds for the Argentine driver and a stop-and-go for Gasly – have dropped them down the final classification and promoted Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Haas newcomer Ryo Hirakawa to P9 and P10.
The stewards’ decision document on Colapinto, which added that he would also receive a penalty point, read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 43 (Colapinto), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“The driver and team presented telemetry and photographic evidence claiming it demonstrated that the driver had complied with the regulations which state that the driver must reduce speed and be prepared to change direction.
“A detailed examination of the telemetry and on board camera failed to satisfy the Stewards that the driver had sufficiently reduced speed through that single yellow sector.
“In relation to the previous double yellow flag sector the Stewards determined that there was sufficient doubt that the driver had sufficient warning in order to comply with the requirements, so did not determine that there was any breach in relation to that sector.”
Meanwhile, Gasly’s lack of speed reduction was determined to be a more serious error, earning him two penalty points.
The document related to him explained: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 10 (Gasly), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry and in-car video evidence.
“The driver and team representative claimed that the driver had made a significant reduction in speed in the double yellow flag sector however a detailed examination of the telemetry and that of other cars passing through that sector, led the Stewards to conclude that the small reduction noted was not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the regulations.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/alpines-gasly-and-colapinto-stripped-of-mexico-city-gp-points-after-post-race-penalties.2wLfobQHufuH1L1aMYPl7h