Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday for Red Bull, 0.799 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli finished third for Mercedes, 4.006 seconds behind the winner. That result, over 71 laps, made him world champion with four races still to go. Mexico was the 19th of 23 rounds this season.
Antonelli, who was born in Bologna, needed to finish ninth or better at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. He breaks the record of Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title in 2010 at the age of 23, and he ends a wait of 73 years for Italy.
Verstappen started fifth and took his third win of the season. Hamilton had started from pole position, his first with Ferrari, but the race changed on the first lap. Charles Leclerc, third on the grid, went off the track at Turn 4 and passed his teammate for the lead, and Verstappen followed him into second place. The stewards gave Leclerc a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage. Their guideline for this case is 10 seconds, but they reduced it because Hamilton had also left the track earlier in the lap. Leclerc did not give the position back. When he stopped in the pits, Verstappen stopped on the same lap and came out in front.
A Red Flag and a Restart
Valtteri Bottas crashed his Cadillac on the way into Turn 1, after a failure of the right front suspension. The race was stopped for almost 40 minutes, and the Finnish driver left the medical centre without injuries. When the cars started again after the break, Leclerc locked his brakes. Hamilton passed him first, and Antonelli, who had started fourth, went down the inside at Turn 1 and moved up to third. Leclerc finished fourth, 10.707 seconds behind Verstappen. Hamilton spent the final laps behind the Red Bull, without finding a way by.
Mercedes, McLaren and Audi
George Russell started second for Mercedes but lost ground and finished sixth, 12.263 seconds behind Verstappen. Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren, 11.778 seconds behind the winner. His teammate Oscar Piastri collided late in the race with Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, who crashed at Turn 2 and brought out the Safety Car. Lindblad was not hurt. Piastri received a 10-second penalty after the race and dropped to 13th. For Audi, Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth, 22.041 seconds behind the winner, and scored four points. Nico Hulkenberg was 14th.
The Rest of the Field
Liam Lawson started from the pit lane and finished seventh for Racing Bulls, 20.899 seconds behind Verstappen. Isack Hadjar was ninth in the second Red Bull, and Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa scored one point in 10th place on his debut for Haas. Williams finished just outside the points, with Alexander Albon 11th and Carlos Sainz 12th. Alpine went home without points, because Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly were penalised after the race for not slowing down under yellow flags and dropped to 15th and 17th. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both retired their Aston Martins in the opening laps, and Oliver Bearman did not finish in the other Haas. Sergio Pérez, racing in front of his home crowd, finished 16th for Cadillac, the new American team.
The Standings
Ferrari left Mexico with both cars in the top four and 30 points, seven more than Mercedes. In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes leads Ferrari by 126 points. Red Bull is third with 382 points.
Mercedes can win the team title next weekend at the São Paulo Grand Prix, at Interlagos, on 8 November.
Race Result, Mexico City Grand Prix, Top 4
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap Pts
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 2:20:28.772 25
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.799 18
3 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +4.006 15
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +10.707 12
2026 Drivers’ Championship after Round 19, Top 5
Pos Driver Team Pts
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 380
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 261
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 259
4 George Russell Mercedes 250
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 245
2026 Constructors’ Championship, Top 3
Pos Team Pts
1 Mercedes 630
2 Ferrari 504
3 Red Bull 382
Results and standings as of press time, subject to post-race review.
Per le foto:
Ferrari – © Ferrari S.p.A. Scuderia Ferrari HP
Mercedes – © https://media.mercedesamgf1.com
