Kimi Antonelli did not need to win in Mexico City, and he did not. Crossing the line third on Sunday sufficed for the Italian to lock up the 2026 title, making the Italian, at 20 years and 68 days, the youngest champion in Formula 1 history. He achieved it in only his second full season.
The arithmetic was generous: ninth place would have done the job whatever Lewis Hamilton or George Russell managed. The race itself was anything but routine. Starting fourth, Antonelli had to keep his head through a red-flag stoppage after Valtteri Bottas hit the barrier at Turn 1 with a broken front suspension, and through a late safety-car period triggered by Arvid Lindblad crashing out. Bottas climbed from his Cadillac unaided and was checked at the medical centre.
Victory went to Max Verstappen, who had lined up only fifth. His chance came from a scrap between the Ferraris on the opening lap. Hamilton, on pole for the first time in 1,197 days, and Charles Leclerc ran wide side by side, Leclerc grabbed the lead across the grass and was penalised, and the four-time champion pounced. From there Verstappen controlled two restarts and kept Hamilton 0.799 seconds behind at the flag. It was his sixth triumph in Mexico and his third in four races.
Leclerc held off Lando Norris, the outgoing champion, for fourth, with Russell sixth. Liam Lawson recovered from a pit-lane start to seventh, and Haas stand-in Ryo Hirakawa scored a point on his debut. Oscar Piastri tumbled to 13th after stewards punished him for hitting Lindblad.
Verstappen’s win lifts him to second in the standings, though a distant 119 points adrift. The headline belongs to Antonelli, whose rise from rookie to champion took barely two years.
