Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix from fifth on the grid, 0.799 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, after a race interrupted by a red flag and two restarts. Kimi Antonelli finished third and, with 380 points and a 119-point lead over Verstappen with 100 left to play for, he is the 2026 world champion. At 20 years, 2 months and 7 days, he is the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Hamilton started from pole, his first for Ferrari. Verstappen qualified fourth but started fifth after a one-place grid penalty for his FP2 collision with Liam Lawson. The official classification below includes three post-race penalties, which moved Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly out of the points.

A first lap with two penalties

Hamilton and Leclerc both left the track at Turn 4 on the opening lap, and Leclerc came out in the lead. The stewards gave him a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which he served at his pit stop. George Russell, second on the grid, was given ten seconds for causing a collision with Isack Hadjar at Turn 6. Both Aston Martins retired after five laps, and Lance Stroll’s stop brought out a Virtual Safety Car on laps 7 and 8.

How the lead changed hands

Leclerc led until the stops. Verstappen started on mediums and pitted on lap 27 for softs, the same lap as Leclerc, and came out ahead of him once the penalty was served. Antonelli stayed out on his first set until lap 43 and led in the meantime. His stop handed the lead to Verstappen one lap before the race was neutralised: Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily at Turn 1 on lap 43, the Safety Car came out on lap 44, and Race Control showed the red flag on lap 45 so the barrier could be repaired. Bottas got out of his Cadillac unaided.

Two restarts, one winner

After about 40 minutes the race resumed with a standing start, in the order Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli. Hamilton passed Leclerc at the start and touched Verstappen at Turn 1; the stewards took no further action. Antonelli then passed Leclerc for third. A second Safety Car came out on lap 59, after Piastri and Arvid Lindblad collided at Turn 2 and Lindblad retired. Verstappen kept the lead at the restart on lap 63 and held Hamilton off to the flag. Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race, 1:19.268 on lap 50.

Penalties after the flag

Piastri crossed the line seventh but was given ten seconds for causing the collision with Lindblad and dropped to thirteenth. Colapinto was given ten seconds for failing to slow under yellow flags, from eighth to fifteenth, and Gasly a stop-and-go converted into 30 seconds, from tenth to seventeenth. Lawson, who started from the pit lane after his qualifying disqualification, finished seventh. Hirakawa, who replaced Esteban Ocon at Haas from FP3 onwards, scored a point on his Grand Prix debut. Sergio Pérez finished sixteenth in his 300th Grand Prix, at home, after a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Antonelli’s title

Antonelli arrived in Mexico 123 points ahead of Russell and needed to finish ninth or better. Third place gives him 380 points. Verstappen moves up to second on 261, two points ahead of Hamilton (259), with Russell on 250 and Leclerc on 245. With four rounds and 100 points left, nobody can catch Antonelli. He beats Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest champion, set in 2010, and gives Mercedes their first drivers’ title since Hamilton in 2020. Mercedes also lead the constructors’ championship with 630 points, 126 ahead of Ferrari.

Sources

Laps, stints, positions, race control, penalties and weather: f1live laps, stints, positions and race control messages for the race (session 11404).

Final classification, starting grid and post-race penalties: Formula 1 race result and starting grid. Bottas’s crash and the title records: Formula 1 race report. Championship after the race: RaceFans.