2026 Mexican Grand Prix: Verstappen wins as Antonelli clinches F1 title

Max Verstappen won the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix from fifth on the grid, and Kimi Antonelli secured the Formula 1 title. Yet Ferrari’s lost chance at victory and a string of penalties gave the race its sharpest twists. Three drivers who initially finished in the top 10 later lost their points places, helping a short-notice F1 debutant reach the final scoring position.

It was a weekend of sharply contrasting fortunes: Verstappen made the most of other teams’ errors, Ferrari let a strong position slip, and late decisions changed the order well after the chequered flag.

Ferrari let a winning position slip

Ferrari had the pace and track position to turn its pole into a major result. Instead, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s fight at Turn 4 disrupted the team’s 1-2. The circuit offered few passing opportunities, which made Ferrari’s position especially valuable. As team boss Fred Vasseur put it: “When you are 1-2 in Turn 4, you don't imagine that you won't win the race.”

Verstappen got past Hamilton during the dispute, and Leclerc was penalised for cutting across the track. The five-second penalty gave Red Bull a chance to jump him during the pit stops. Ferrari still finished second and fourth, but those results came with the sense that a win had been there for the taking. The latest Leclerc-Hamilton clash turned what should have been Ferrari’s best day of the season into a costly missed opportunity.

Verstappen turns opportunity into victory

Verstappen needed help to get into contention. George Russell’s power deployment problem on the run to the first corner surrendered a place, and the Ferrari fight then opened a path past Hamilton. Red Bull’s pit work helped him move ahead of Leclerc when the latter served his penalty.

A red flag shortened the long stint Verstappen otherwise would have needed on soft tyres, though the restart brought its own test: he had to defend the lead from Hamilton from a standing start. He did so firmly and within the rules, then controlled the race to the finish. The result was a recovery from fifth on the grid built on sharp reactions and a mistake-free drive once he was in front. Verstappen’s win came on the same day Antonelli clinched the title.

Antonelli adds a podium to his title day

Antonelli’s championship was effectively settled before the Mexican race, but he still gave the crowd a late moment to remember. The Mercedes driver was fourth and chasing Leclerc after the restart sequence. A decision by the stewards to use the order from the lap before the safety car had put Hamilton ahead of Antonelli, leaving the young driver with work to do.

He chose to attack Leclerc rather than simply hold position, diving down the inside to claim third and put himself on the podium for his title celebrations. It carried some risk, but it reflected the measured aggression that had characterised his title-winning season. Antonelli finished third; Russell, by contrast, came home sixth after his race was knocked off course at the start.

Russell and Hadjar pay for an opening-lap clash

Russell appeared well placed to challenge at Turn 1, but a deployment shortage blunted his launch. Later on the opening lap, he clipped Isack Hadjar, who spun and fell down the order. Russell received a penalty. Hadjar’s damaged car and the time lost in the collision and restarts left him with a difficult recovery, although he eventually climbed to 12th on the road and ninth in the final classification after penalties.

Russell’s sixth place was a disappointing return from a race that began with a possible shot at the lead. He also received a fine for missing post-race media duties. For Hadjar, ninth brought points, but little consolation on a day when his team-mate won. Russell’s absence after the race added another complication to his weekend.

Piastri and Lindblad lose out in contact

Oscar Piastri made progress after a difficult qualifying session, helped by a strong start. His recovery stalled after a slow restart left him fighting Arvid Lindblad for seventh. Piastri said he was trying to concede Turn 2 to avoid a crash, but contact sent Lindblad into the wall and left the McLaren with damage.

The stewards judged Piastri responsible and imposed a 10-second penalty, ruling that his explanation did not excuse the collision. The penalty made his attempted recovery fruitless. Piastri was penalised for the contact.

Lindblad retired, losing a chance at what could have been his second-best result of the season after sixth in Monaco. He had been fighting for seventh and had criticised his own qualifying position, but the stewards cleared him of responsibility. The incident remains less straightforward than that finding suggests: Piastri had limited room, and Lindblad could have prioritised avoiding contact. A finish around eighth would also have helped Racing Bulls in its contest with Alpine for fifth among the teams.

Alpine’s points disappear; Lawson climbs to seventh

Alpine looked set for its strongest result since the Italian Grand Prix at the start of September. Franco Colapinto held off Liam Lawson, who had started from the pit lane, and initially finished seventh after Lindblad’s retirement. A penalty for Piastri promoted Colapinto and moved Pierre Gasly up to ninth. Then yellow-flag penalties for both Alpine drivers erased their points, leaving the team 35 points behind Racing Bulls in the fight for fifth.

That reshuffle transformed Lawson’s weekend. He had already received a grid penalty after colliding with Verstappen in practice, then another for an MGU-K rules breach in qualifying that sent him to the pit lane. His progress through the field proved worthwhile: later decisions lifted him to seventh in the final order. The practice collision with Verstappen had started a difficult run of penalties. The qualifying breach added to the setback.

Aston Martin and Cadillac leave with unfinished business

Aston Martin’s Friday pace had suggested a more competitive weekend, but both cars retired within seven laps. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso offered little detail at first. Alonso said the cars had not been changed after his qualifying problem and suggested Honda had underestimated the demands of Mexico’s altitude. Honda pointed to cooling issues. The double retirement was a stark contrast with the midfield pace Aston Martin had shown earlier in the weekend.

Cadillac also missed a result it had briefly made look possible. Sergio Perez launched well at both the original start and the restart, reaching 13th and staying ahead of quicker cars. A wheelgun problem slowed his first stop, and a pit-lane speeding penalty further weakened his position. The team finished 16th, while Valtteri Bottas retired after a heavy crash that prompted medical checks. Bottas’s exit was the weekend’s most alarming moment.

Hirakawa makes a rare debut count

Ryo Hirakawa finished 10th after being called up during the week, making him a points scorer in his F1 debut. The double World Endurance champion and Le Mans 24 Hours winner had a short-notice chance to race, with the eventual result shaped in part by the penalties ahead of him. Even so, the final position shouldn’t obscure a respectable performance in difficult circumstances.

His F1 opportunity may be brief: he had missed out to Rafa Camara in the contest for Haas’s 2027 seat, and a World Endurance Championship clash was due the following weekend. If Esteban Ocon couldn’t return, Camara was expected to be the leading option for a permanent replacement. Hirakawa’s Mexican Grand Prix therefore gave him a striking result on a weekend when penalties and retirements reshaped the standings from front to back. The uncertainty around Haas’s driver line-up added context to his call-up. His debut was stronger than the final circumstances alone might suggest.