Antonelli takes F1 crown at 20 as Verstappen wins Mexico thriller

Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest world champion at 20 as Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on November 1, 2026, beating Lewis Hamilton by less than a second after a race interrupted by a red flag and safety cars.

Verstappen completed the 71 laps at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez just 0.799 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Hamilton, with Mercedes driver Antonelli third, 4.006 seconds behind the winner. The result settled the drivers’ championship with four rounds remaining.

Antonelli breaks Vettel’s record with maiden title

Antonelli secured the championship at 20 years and 68 days, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s record of 23 years and 134 days when the German won his first title in 2010. Antonelli also became Italy’s first world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Antonelli needed only ninth place to guarantee the title and started fourth. His podium finish took him to 380 points, an unassailable 119 ahead of Verstappen, who moved into second overall on 261. Hamilton has 259 points and Mercedes team-mate George Russell 250.

“I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened,” Antonelli said after the race, thanking Mercedes and his family for their support.

Antonelli has won nine of the season’s 19 Grands Prix, securing the championship in only his second Formula 1 campaign.

Verstappen capitalises on Ferrari’s opening-lap battle

Verstappen converted fifth on the grid into his third victory of the season and sixth in Mexico after taking advantage of an early fight between Ferrari team-mates Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton led from pole, but Leclerc challenged through the opening corners and crossed the grass at Turn 4 to emerge ahead. Hamilton’s compromised exit allowed Verstappen to move into second, while Leclerc received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Red Bull brought Verstappen into the pits alongside Leclerc. Serving the penalty delayed the Ferrari, allowing Verstappen to emerge ahead and take control of the race.

“Lewis was flat-out in my gearbox so I couldn’t afford to make a mistake,” Verstappen said of the closing battle.

Hamilton believed Ferrari had thrown away a potential one-two finish. “We had the car to easily have first and second,” he told reporters.

Leclerc acknowledged leaving the circuit and expecting a penalty, but said unclear communication with Ferrari contributed to his decision to retain the position after Verstappen split the two team-mates.

Bottas crash brings out red flag in Mexico

Valtteri Bottas’s heavy crash brought the race to a halt after a front-left suspension failure sent his Cadillac into the barriers approaching Turn 1. Bottas was assessed at the medical centre and subsequently released.

Verstappen held the lead at the standing restart. Hamilton moved into second, with Antonelli passing Leclerc on the following lap. A later collision involving Oscar Piastri and Arvid Lindblad brought another safety car, but Hamilton could not find a way past Verstappen when racing resumed.

Piastri crossed the line seventh but received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, leaving him 13th in the final order. Alpine also lost its double points finish: Franco Colapinto received 10 seconds for a yellow-flag infringement and dropped to 15th, while Pierre Gasly’s penalty added 30 seconds and left him 17th.

The revised order promoted Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson to seventh, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto to eighth, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar to ninth and Haas debutant Ryo Hirakawa to tenth. Thailand’s Alexander Albon finished just outside the points in 11th for Williams, ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz.

Russell finished sixth after receiving a 10-second penalty for contact with Hadjar. Mercedes was later fined €5,000 after Russell missed mandatory post-race media duties; team principal Toto Wolff had excused him, describing the driver as distraught after his championship challenge ended.