Antonelli celebrates first F1 title on Mexico podium as Verstappen profits from Ferrari fight

Kimi Antonelli celebrated his first Formula 1 world title on the podium in Mexico after passing Charles Leclerc for third following the red flag. His Mercedes triumph came on a day when Ferrari’s own fight at the front helped Max Verstappen to victory.

Antonelli started fifth and moved ahead of George Russell after Russell’s slow start. He had said he felt extra tense with the title in sight, but the outcome meant he did not need to finish: neither Russell nor Lewis Hamilton won.

Ferrari had Hamilton on pole and Leclerc third. Hamilton held the lead through Turn 3, but both cars went off at Turn 4 when Leclerc attacked around the outside and cut the corner. Hamilton lost momentum and Verstappen passed him.

Leclerc received a five-second penalty; the stewards cited mitigating circumstances for a lighter sanction than the usual 10 seconds. Hamilton called for a harsher penalty. Verstappen also got ahead of Leclerc through the pit lane. At the restart following the red flag, Leclerc lost two places and flat-spotted his tyres. Ferrari finished second and fourth.

Verstappen’s victory was his third in four races. After a difficult start to 2026 for Red Bull, he has been on the podium at every race since retiring at Zandvoort.

The red flag followed a crash for Valtteri Bottas, whose Cadillac was sent into the barriers by a left-front suspension failure. The Cadillac driver says he is “pretty confident” he has a seat secured for 2027, although it still needs validation from the company’s bosses in the United States.

His team-mate Sergio Pérez has outqualified him four times in succession, including by seven tenths in Mexico. Pérez leads their 2026 qualifying comparison 15–9.

Elsewhere, Haas gave 32-year-old Ryo Hirakawa an unexpected F1 debut. He had travelled to Mexico for first practice but learned on Saturday morning that he would contest the rest of the weekend, after Haas dropped Esteban Ocon for the remaining sessions following a disagreement on Friday night.

Almost nine tenths behind his team-mate in qualifying, Hirakawa nevertheless beat three rivals in Q1 and completed the race, which included two standing starts. Haas already has Bearman and Camara lined up for 2027.