Max Verstappen survives almighty Lewis Hamilton pressure as Kimi Antonelli seals world title

Max Verstappen survived almighty late pressure from Lewis Hamilton to win the Mexico City Grand Prix, as Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1's youngest world champion.

With neither Hamilton nor George Russell winning, the title was guaranteed for Antonelli in Mexico City, yet he still managed to complete the podium.

It was a lengthy race at high altitude, following a 40-minute stoppage due to a red flag after Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily mid-race.

Charles Leclerc, who was involved in an incident with Hamilton on the first lap, finished fourth, with Lando Norris completing the top five.

Hamilton and Leclerc have fiery opening lap clash

Unsurprisingly, all eyes were on Kimi Antonelli at the start, given what was at stake for the Mercedes driver. Crucially, almost everyone in the top 10 opted to start on softs, with the exception of Max Verstappen, who went for the mediums.

As the lights went out, Lewis Hamilton made a great start from pole position and led into the first corner, with Charles Leclerc slotting in behind. The pair battled into Turn 4, where Leclerc attempted to go around the outside.

It resulted in both Ferrari drivers going off the circuit. Leclerc cut Turn 5 completely and rejoined in the lead, while Hamilton rejoined the circuit having made the corner but slipped behind Verstappen and into third.

Behind them, it was frustration for Isack Hadjar, who was spun at Turn 6 by George Russell. Leclerc and Russell were both placed under investigation and received five- and 10-second time penalties, respectively. The leniency of the penalties left Hamilton furious.

Following the lap-one chaos, the race quickly settled, although both Aston Martins sadly retired on lap seven. What quickly became clear was how tricky it was to follow another car due to the threat of overheating.

On lap 26, Oscar Piastri was the first of the leading drivers to pit, which created a significant window for the race leaders to stop. A lap later, Leclerc and Verstappen pitted. The former served his penalty and fell behind the Dutchman as a result.

Leclerc went from softs to mediums, while Verstappen went from mediums to softs. Hamilton boxed the following lap but rejoined behind his team-mate. On lap 33, Russell pitted and served his lengthy penalty, costing him a place to Lando Norris, who pitted six laps later.

The final leading driver to pit was Antonelli, who briefly found himself in the lead but returned to fourth after pitting on lap 43. Crucially, had the Italian waited one more lap, he would have become the actual race leader.

This was because Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas suffered a scary front-left suspension failure at the first corner and crashed hard into the barrier. It initially triggered a safety car, which was quickly elevated to a full red flag on lap 45 to allow for barrier repairs.

Race report continues below the video...

Verstappen survives Hamilton pressure; Antonelli becomes world champion

Following barrier repairs, the Grand Prix resumed 40 minutes after Bottas' scary shunt with a standing start. Verstappen was on pole, with Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli and Norris completing the top five. Unsurprisingly, everyone was on soft tyres.

As the lights went out for a second time in Mexico City, Verstappen made a good start and led into the first corner. However, Hamilton was challenging him following an excellent start from the seven-time world champion.

Verstappen kept the lead through the opening corners, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, although Leclerc was passed by Antonelli on the following lap. Elsewhere, Oliver Bearman retired after being hit by Nico Hulkenberg, who did receive a penalty as a result.

There was a brief scare for Verstappen, who was placed under investigation on lap 50 for allegedly starting out of position, but no further action was taken.

Verstappen did well to quickly build an advantage of more than one second over Hamilton, keeping the Ferrari driver out of 'overtake mode' territory. That advantage was destroyed on lap 59, when another Safety Car was required after Arvid Lindblad crashed at Turn 2 following contact with Piastri.

The Safety Car period ended at the end of lap 62, leaving nine laps to go at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. All eyes were on when Verstappen would restart the race. He did so on exiting the stadium section, but Hamilton remained very close.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, he could not get close enough to attack his fierce rival. Verstappen went on to hold on to the lead and claim victory, ahead of Hamilton and Antonelli, with the result securing the Italian the 2026 F1 drivers' title.

Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, who started from the pit lane, and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.