Antonelli crowned youngest ever F1 Champion with 3rd place finish in Mexico; Verstappen wins Grand Prix, Hamilton runner up, as Leclerc holds on for P4 amidst early race intra-Ferrari drama

Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the youngest ever Formula 1 champion by placing third in Round 19 at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, thereby securing the 2026 title with four schedule races remaining. The Italian phenom, who only just turned twenty in August, frankly ran away with the championship this season, as Mercedes’ first stab at the new formula proved a smashing success and Antonelli meshed with the car in a way his teammate and preseason favorite George Russell could not quite manage. Antonelli becomes not only the youngest F1 champ, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s previous 2010 record by over three years, but also becomes the third Italian to win a World Championship and the first since Albert Ascari way back in 1953. True to his form this year, Antonelli ran a superb race starting from fourth on the grid and then putting himself on the podium at the expense of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc late in the race. He also kept it very clean as he watched first Leclerc and his pole-sitting Scuderia teammate Lewis Hamilton come together ob the opening lap and then the intense battle for the win between Hamilton and eventual race winner Max Verstappen as the laps ran down. Antonelli’s campaign this year will go down as one of the great ones, with nine wins so far and a points gap to his closest competitors that never really seemed surmountable at any time. And to think he’s only twenty-years-old and just in his second season. Who knows what other great accomplishments await young Kimi in the future?

THIS MOMENT! 😱

Here is the first lap move from Leclerc on Hamilton, which is currently under investigation 👇

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— Formula 1 (@F1) November 1, 2026

The coming together if Hamilton and Leclerc on the opening lap may have cost Ferrari the win, as Leclerc’s aggressive maneuver cost the pole-sitting Hamilton two places, first to the Monegasque and subsequently to Red Bull’s Verstappen when the seven-time champion lost momentum in the clash. With Hamilton now two cars behind, Leclerc was not able to give the position back for cutting the course and gaining an advantage and he was assessed a rather paltry 5-second penalty that eventually demoted him to third after Verstappen & Hamilton jumped him in the pits due to serving his penalty. While Hamilton was game and tried his best to get by Verstappen, the clean air for the Red Bull proved decisive in the thin air of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and the Ferrari was unsettled by the turbulence of Verstappen’s hot and dirty air. In the end, the flying Dutchman fended off Hamilton’s best efforts to secure the victory, Verstappen’s third top step in the last four races, a strong run of form as the season enters its closing stanza after a difficult start getting to grips with the new rules and design.

Cinema 🍿✨

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— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2026

Top 10 finishers of the Mexico City GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time as the 2026 season starts its final four scheduled rounds  with a trip to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. With the top spot in the Drivers’ Championship now secured by Antonelli, the battle is on for second place between Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell. Hope to see you then to find out who can gain the upper hand at Interlagos!