Verstappen holds off Hamilton for Mexico win as Antonelli clinches title

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest ever Formula 1 world champion after finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix behind winner Max Verstappen.

Antonelli started fourth but recovered to third with a late-braking move on Charles Leclerc 24 laps from the finish to seal the title with four rounds remaining. At 20 years old, Antonelli is the youngest champion in history, eclipsing 23-year-old Sebastian Vettel’s first title in 2010.

He’s also the first world champion from Italy since Alberto Ascari in 1953 and only the second Italian to win the title, after Ascari and inaugural winner Giuseppe Farina. He follows Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton in winning the title in his second season – excluding Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, who won the first two drivers championships in 1950 and 1951.

“I wouldn’t be here without Mercedes, without my family, so I’m very grateful for this moment,” he said. “It’s one that will live forever. I’m just speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.

“This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I’m just so happy. I’m happy that we got it done. Now we can enjoy the rest of the season.”

The lead battle was set up by a contentious first lap. Pole-getter Hamilton got the perfect start ahead of George Russell to lead into the first turn, but the Mercedes appeared to run out of battery before the braking zone, allowing Leclerc and Verstappen to cruise past him.

Leclerc tailed Hamilton closely on the run down to Turn 4, where he launched an ambitious around-the-outside move on his teammate. Leclerc ran off the road in his eagerness and cut the chicane to take the lead; Hamilton also briefly left the road in a bid to defend, and his compromised line allowed Verstappen through into second place.

Verstappen’s overtake meant Leclerc couldn’t hand back the place – much to Hamilton’s frustration – and was slapped with a 5s penalty for passing off the track.

“The stewards are basically handing Charles this win,” Hamilton said as his teammate opened a 5s advantage over Verstappen in the lead by lap 22.

It wasn’t enough to hold the lead, however, when he pitted on lap 28. Red Bull Racing responded aggressively, pitting Verstappen on the same lap to ramp up the pressure on the neighboring pit box. Leclerc’s service took 1.4s longer after sitting stationary for 5s, and Verstappen left pit lane in the lead. Hamilton stopped on the following tour to resume net third place.

With 42 laps to go, the Ferrari drivers on the more durable medium were in pursuit of Verstappen, who had taken softs. Red Bull Racing warned him of a long final stint on the most delicate rubber, and he was implored to conjure one of his “Mexico magic stints” to get to the finish.

But a big crash for Valtteri Bottas on lap 44 upended the race. The front-left suspension on Bottas’s Cadillac catastrophically failed on the approach to the first turn, sending him spinning at high speed into the barriers. He emerged from the wreckage unscathed and was cleared by subsequent medical checks. A lengthy red flag was called for barrier repairs.

“We’ve got big problems – big, big problems,” a frustrated Hamilton said as he returned to pit lane before storming into the garage.

He channeled that rage into a perfect standing restart on lap 47, immediately blasting past his teammate to challenge Verstappen around the outside of his first turn, where the two made light contact before the Dutchman consolidated his lead. Leclerc, in a bid to keep up, committed an enormous lock-up that flat-spotted his front tires, giving him significant vibrations for the rest of the race.

Antonelli capitalized one lap later with a sweet late-braking move to dive down Leclerc’s inside at Turn 1 to put himself onto the podium.

Hamilton gave enthusiastic chase of Verstappen lap after lap before ceding ground to manage temperatures, but their duel was reset on lap 59 when Arvid Lindblad and Oscar Piastri collided at the first turn, spitting Lindblad into the barriers with broken rear-left suspension.

Hamilton redoubled his efforts when the race resumed on lap 73, but his Ferrari lacked the straight-line speed to launch a move at the Red Bull. Verstappen stroked home with car with his mirrors full of Ferrari, taking checkered flag by 0.799s.

“It was very hectic out there today,” he said. “I do think we lacked a little bit of pace, but we just hung in there, made the right calls at the right time, [and] the penalty of Charles then put us into the lead.

“You could see they were always staying with me. It was tough. I was sweating at the end to try and keep Lewis behind.”

Hamilton rued the first lap that cost him a shot at victory.

“Ultimately it was that that lost us the win today,” he said. “I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes for sure.

“I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll take it offline and figure out what we can do in the background.”

Antonelli kept a watching brief on the warring former title rivals ahead of him to complete the podium on his championship-winning weekend.

“To share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible," he said. “I’m looking forward to some more battles in the future.”

Leclerc’s flat-spotted front tires were in dire shape, with the canvas showing from beneath the tread. It left him vulnerable to Lando Norris, who put the Ferrari through its paces, taking alternative lines through the two chicanes to try to force the Monaco native into a mistake – but Leclerc played a perfect defensive game to hold fourth place.

Russell finished sixth in a race defined by a 10s penalty for tipping Isack Hadjar into a spin on the first lap. Oscar Piastri finished seventh, up from 13th on the grid, ahead of Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, Ryo Hirakawa, Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez completed the finishers.

Lindblad, Oliver Bearman, Bottas, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso failed to finish.

RESULTS to follow