Verstappen wins the Mexico City Grand Prix as Antonelli is crowned world champion

Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, and on the same afternoon Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. Read the title story: Kimi Antonelli is Formula 1 world champion at 20.

Results and starting grid: Mexico City Grand Prix 2026 results. The full official classification is there too.

Leclerc took the lead off the track, Verstappen took second

Both Ferraris made a strong start, Hamilton from pole and Leclerc from third, while George Russell, who started second, got away badly. Verstappen, who started fifth after his one-place grid drop, used the slipstream of Antonelli’s Mercedes to pass several cars and was third within the first corners.

A few corners later the Ferraris fought each other. Charles Leclerc passed pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton outside the track limits at Turn 4 and took the lead. While Hamilton had to correct his line, Verstappen moved up to second.

The stewards later gave Leclerc a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage. In their decision they wrote that both cars entered Turn 4 with excessive speed, that Hamilton on the inside also had to go off track to make the corner, and that Leclerc therefore was not entitled to claim it. The baseline penalty is ten seconds; the stewards reduced it because Hamilton was off track too and because it happened early on the first lap (FIA document 69). The penalty meant Leclerc’s lead was worth less than it looked as he pulled away in clean air.

Further back, Russell made contact with Isack Hadjar on the opening lap as he tried to recover from his poor start.

Antonelli ran long, the safety car came late

After the first round of pit stops Verstappen was the virtual leader. Antonelli stayed out on a long first stint and led the race, with Mercedes hoping for a safety car that would give him a cheap stop. It did not come in time, and Antonelli made his stop under green flags.

A few laps later the safety car did come out, after a heavy crash for Valtteri Bottas, who is classified as retired after 42 laps. The Cadillac appeared to suffer a front suspension failure under braking for a corner, went straight on and hit the barriers backwards. The race was red-flagged. Cadillac and the FIA have not yet given an official update on Bottas; we will add it here as soon as they do.

Later a second safety car was called after Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri collided; Lindblad retired, Piastri crossed the line seventh, but the stewards later gave him a 10-second penalty for causing the collision and he is classified 13th; Ryo Hirakawa took the last point in tenth on his Haas debut. After the restart Verstappen and Hamilton fought hard all the way to the flag, but Verstappen kept his win under control. Antonelli finished third, which settled the title.

Sergio Pérez, in the other Cadillac, received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane at 80.2 km/h, 0.2 km/h over the limit (FIA document 71).

Verstappen’s win, Antonelli’s title

Verstappen won from fifth on the grid, a day after the stewards had dropped him one place for his practice clash with Liam Lawson (the grid penalties). Antonelli, who started fourth, needed a top-nine finish to settle the title in Mexico. He crossed the line third, and formula1.com confirmed after the race that he is the 2026 world champion, with four rounds still to go.

Verstappen beat Hamilton by 0.799 seconds

Top ten of the official race classification, formula1.com. Time is the gap to the winner, after penalties. Full classification: Mexico City Grand Prix 2026 results.

Our count: one corner shaped the race

Turn 4 on the opening lap decided more than the stewards’ five seconds suggest. Leclerc’s move cost Hamilton the lead and his rhythm, and it handed Verstappen second place without a fight. From there Verstappen only had to stay close to a Ferrari carrying a penalty. Mercedes gambled on a safety car for Antonelli and lost that gamble by a few laps, but on a day when he only had to bring the car home, it hardly mattered.

São Paulo next, on Sunday 8 November at 14:00 local

The São Paulo Grand Prix starts at 14:00 local time, 17:00 UK, 18:00 CET and 12:00 ET. With the title settled, the fight for second between Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc goes on. Standings: F1 standings 2026. Profiles: Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli. Saturday’s report: Hamilton on pole by nine thousandths.

Sources: race observations by RNT-Motorsports; FIA stewards’ decisions, documents 69 and 71; formula1.com.

The photo everyone is talking about: Verstappen and Hamilton carry Antonelli on their shoulders.

Was Leclerc’s five-second penalty for the Turn 4 move enough, or should it have been the full ten? Tell us in the comments.