Formula 1 has a new World Champion, and he is the youngest the sport has ever crowned. Kimi Antonelli, 20, secured the 2026 title for Mercedes at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, November 1, by finishing third in a race that Max Verstappen won.
Here is how a chaotic afternoon at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez played out, based on the official race report on Formula1.com.
The title is decided
Antonelli went into the 71-lap race needing only to finish ninth to take his first championship, no matter where his rivals Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes teammate George Russell ended up. He started fourth and finished third, 4.006 seconds behind the winner, which was more than enough.
After the race, Antonelli said, “We did it. And, 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. And I just, I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.”
Verstappen wins from fifth on the grid
Out front, Verstappen took his third win of the season for Red Bull after starting fifth. He held off a late challenge from Hamilton, winning by 0.799 seconds, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Lando Norris fifth.
The race report says Verstappen benefited from an intense battle between the two Ferrari drivers. Hamilton started on pole and led into the first corner, but Leclerc challenged him side by side through the opening turns. Both went off the track, which let Verstappen move up. Leclerc was later given a time penalty for cutting the track on the first lap, and Verstappen took the lead.
The top five
According to the official results:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2:20:28.772
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), +0.799 seconds
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), +4.006 seconds
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), +10.707 seconds
- Lando Norris (McLaren), +11.778 seconds
Russell finished sixth, followed by Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar and Ryo Hirakawa, who completed the top ten on his Formula 1 debut for Haas after a mid-weekend call-up.
A race full of interruptions
The Grand Prix was far from calm. A heavy crash for Valtteri Bottas at Turn 1 brought out a red flag from lap 46 after his front left suspension failed under braking. Bottas was responsive on the radio, extracted himself from the car without help and was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks, according to the report.
Later, a late Safety Car was needed after Oscar Piastri and Arvid Lindblad collided through the opening corners, sending Lindblad into the wall. Piastri received a 10-second penalty for the contact. Verstappen nailed the restart with eight laps to go and held on for the win.
Russell was also penalized after tapping Hadjar into a spin on the opening lap. Home favorite Sergio Perez finished 16th for Cadillac.
Key moments, lap by lap
The race report gives a clear picture of how the afternoon unfolded:
- Lap 7: a brief Virtual Safety Car appeared after Lance Stroll pulled his Aston Martin off the track.
- Lap 12: Leclerc, leading by 3.2 seconds, was handed a five-second penalty for the opening-lap incident with Hamilton.
- Laps 26 to 28: the first pit stops from the leading cars shuffled the order, with Verstappen jumping ahead of Leclerc as the Ferrari driver served his penalty.
- Lap 43: Antonelli made the last tyre change of the leaders, and a Safety Car came out moments later after Bottas crashed.
- Lap 46: the race was red-flagged because of barrier damage, then restarted with Verstappen leading.
Hamilton also made his feelings clear over the radio after Leclerc’s penalty was announced, saying that the stewards were “basically handing Charles this win,” according to the report. The pit stops that followed reshaped the order again.
Why the title matters
The official F1 report calls Antonelli the youngest World Champion in the history of the sport. The Italian driver had also needed only a ninth-place finish going into the race, and he comfortably beat that target with a podium.
What comes next
The championship is settled, but the season is not over. The paddock moves straight on to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which takes place across the weekend of November 6 to 8 at Interlagos.
Wrap-up
Verstappen took the trophy on the day, but Mexico City will be remembered for Antonelli. Finishing on the podium to seal a first title at 20 is a milestone that will be hard to top. Next stop, Brazil.
Image: Formula 1 2016 -i—i- (30061627393) by Gobierno CDMX via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0
