Follow-up: Verstappen Wins Mexico City Grand Prix as Antonelli Takes Third to Become Youngest F1 Champion Ever at 20
The 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix ran its 71 laps on November 1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City: Red Bull's Max Verstappen won from fifth on the grid, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished second, and Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli came home third, a result that clinched the 2026 drivers' world championship with four races to spare.
Antonelli arrived leading the standings and needed only ninth place to take the title regardless of where Hamilton or team mate George Russell finished. The 20-year-old Italian started fourth and finished third to become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history and the first Italian drivers' champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953; it is also Mercedes' first drivers' title since 2020.
"We did it. We did it, and we wouldn't have done it without Mercedes, without my family. I'm very grateful for this moment, and one I will live forever," Antonelli said after the race.
The race was anything but calm: a red flag came out on lap 45 after Valtteri Bottas crashed when his front-left suspension broke, and a late Safety Car followed a crash for Arvid Lindblad. Verstappen climbed to second on the opening lap and took the lead after Charles Leclerc was penalized for cutting the track in his first-lap battle with polesitter Hamilton, then held the lead at the standing restart and again after the final Safety Car to claim his third win of the season.
Leclerc finished fourth ahead of Lando Norris in fifth and Russell in sixth. Hamilton's second place came from his first pole position with Ferrari, the 105th pole of his career.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Mercedes 车手 Kimi Antonelli 站在赛车上庆祝胜利（2026 年中国大奖赛赛后资料图，非本场比赛画面）。Liauzh 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli celebrating on his car after the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix; not a photo of this race. Photo by Liauzh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-31Norris Fastest in Final Mexico City Practice by 0.001 Seconds: Antonelli Needs Only Ninth Place to Clinch the Title
- 2026-10-31Hamilton Takes Mexico City GP Pole by 0.009s: First Pole With Ferrari, 105th of His Career
- 2026-11-01Follow-up: Verstappen Wins Mexico City Grand Prix as Antonelli Takes Third to Become Youngest F1 Champion Ever at 20This story
