Five Takeaways: Mexico City Grand Prix
It was a historic weekend in Mexico City, with the crowning of a new young champion on the shoulders of the sport’s giants. Elsewhere, teammates clashed, penalties rained, and a fresh face scored points in his Formula One debut.
Here are DIVEBOMB’s five takeaways from the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Antonelli crowned as the sport’s youngest champion
The biggest highlight of the Grand Prix came in the form of a champion. At just 20 years and 68 days old, Kimi Antonelli was crowned the 2026 F1 Drivers' Champion and is the youngest driver ever to do it. Beyond collecting the highest prize in motorsport, Antonelli is now the first Italian driver to seize the title in 73 years, with the last Italian to do it being Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Antonelli may not have won the Mexico City Grand Prix, but it was not a necessary step in securing the title. The teenager lined up fourth on the grid, knowing that the set target of ninth place or higher would seal the deal. Antonelli opted to complete a long stint on the soft tyres in hopes that a safety car would maintain his spot as the race leader. Mercedes ultimately decided to pull Antonelli into the pits for a late tyre change, a single lap before the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas slammed into the barriers and invoked a safety car before red-flagging the session.
Although the race win was out of reach, Antonelli was still able to make an overtake on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahead after the restart, and therefore able to share the podium with race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, two previous world champions. The pairing hoisted Antonelli into the air, celebrating his win and creating a podium of 12 world championships between the three drivers.
Following the race, Antonelli was overrun with emotion at the day’s result:
“We did it,” he said between tears. “You know, without them, I wouldn’t be here – without Mercedes, without my family. So I’m very grateful for this moment, and it’s one that will live forever. I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.
“It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And yeah, looking forward to some more battles in the future.”
The top spot of the Drivers’ Championship is officially off-limits following Sunday’s events; however, the battle for second place remains a fiery one. The good news for Antonelli? He gets to watch that battle unfold with the top prize in his pocket.
Ferrari 1-2 chances dissolve following teammate drama
At a glance, Antonelli’s win takes the cake for the biggest moment in Mexico, but the collision between the two Ferraris at the start of the race was another one for the books.
Hamilton and Leclerc have had issues in the past when it comes to contact. In fact, the team over at Ferrari have addressed the internal technicalities on a few separate occasions. On Sunday, tensions flared up again between the two drivers as an incident on the first lap caused instant drama.
Hamilton was starting on pole for the 105th time of his career and his first time with Ferrari. The Briton held onto the lead early, but Leclerc moved up and challenged Hamilton for the race lead.
The two went side-by-side, both veering off track before Leclerc cut the grass to take the lead from Hamilton, who was then stuck behind Verstappen.
Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty as a result, and ultimately lost out to Verstappen, who beat him out of the pits later. Hamilton was able to repass Leclerc at the standing restart and secure second, but the seven-time champion was clearly fuming over the incident for most of the Grand Prix. After the race, he said that “serious conversations” within the team would need to be held.
"I think the core thing to remember, which maybe comes with age, is that every decision you make in the car impacts all the people that work in the background for the whole team," said Hamilton.
"So, working as a team is a part of our job and a part of our contract. We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So, it's a shame to see us lose this, as we did. That will just continue unless action is taken, if a real, deep, serious conversation is had.”
Following the race, Leclerc insisted that he would discuss the incident with both Hamilton and the team. He believed that the penalty was deserved “in a way” but also shared his own thoughts.
“I think we both didn’t make the corner," he continued. "I don’t know if Lewis’ point was for me to get P3. But at least having a Red Bull in second, I felt it was worth it to kind of keep the position and see what happens. That’s what I did."
Verstappen starts from P5, clinches the win over Hamilton
Verstappen was hit with a one-place grid penalty following an incident with Liam Lawson during the second free practice, dropping him to a fifth-place start for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Still, for the four-time champion, it didn’t matter, as he willed his Red Bull to a first-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Verstappen took advantage of the early drama between the Ferraris, slotting into second behind Leclerc before beating him out of the pits later for the lead. Verstappen made through the restart caused by the red flag, but was pressured by Hamilton after the safety car restart, who kept him honest right up until the very end of the Grand Prix.
“We gave it everything,” he said. “The first start was good – that, of course, already made my race.
“I do think they made it a little bit difficult for themselves, fighting each other, and that’s why I could capitalise on that.
“I mean, I’ll take it, right? I always try to go for every opportunity, and today I saw the opportunity.”
The win marks Verstappen’s third of the season, and he has won three of the last four races. With a swing of 149 points in his favour, the Dutchman now sits second in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Hamilton.
Russell skips post-race media, suffers from more Mercedes “misfortune”
At the beginning of the 2026 season, George Russell was the overwhelming favourite to win the title. Although 20-year-old Antonelli stealing the title from his teammate wasn’t on many bingo cards, neither was Russell going from title favourite to fighting three other drivers for second in the standings.
After his sixth-place finish in Mexico City, the Briton now finds himself slotted in fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship, with his teammate already in possession of the championship trophy.
Russell lined up on the grid second for the start of the Grand Prix after a rapid qualifying lap had him just missing out on pole position. At the start of the race, Russell was legitimately challenging Hamilton’s Ferrari ahead for the race lead, but things quickly unfolded for him as he was hit with energy deployment issues into the first corner of the race track.
Things only went from bad to worse from there, as Russell made contact with Isack Hadjar into Turn 6, resulting in a 10-second penalty for the incident. With overtaking opportunities few and far between, Russell crossed the line in sixth, with Verstappen and Hamilton’s 1-2 finish dropping him to fourth in the standings.
After the race, Russell made sure to congratulate his teammate, who was deep in the midst of celebrating a drivers' championship victory. Russell did not, however, turn up for his post-race media availability, which is mandatory for drivers unless a legitimate reason is provided. Mercedes was issued a fine for Russell’s no-show, but team principal Toto Wolff was able to offer a few words on the driver’s behalf.
“I believe he was racing for the victory here and then came in this lack of energy and ruined his race," he stated. When asked about the overall disappointing season for Russell, Wolff explained that some of that starts with Mercedes doing a better job technically.
“We have two drivers; we don’t have one. The car just didn’t work for him this year. And then misfortune like today, we just have to sort it out for him.”
Ocon out, Hirakawa scores debut points in his absence
In a weekend already packed with drama, one of the top headlines featured Haas’ Esteban Ocon leaving Mexico City in the middle of the race weekend. Ocon is not re-signing with the team for the 2027 season, but up until Saturday demonstrated no implications that he would not be finishing out the 2026 season as planned.
Ryo Hirakawa, a reserve driver for Haas, had already been pre-scheduled to compete in Free Practice 1 in Ocon’s place, as is standard routine for practice sessions across the entirety of the grid.
The real drama started when Haas announced Saturday that Ocon would not be participating in Free Practice 2, or any of the remaining sessions for the weekend in Mexico City. While a specific reason was not given, Haas confirmed that the swap had nothing to do with illness, and Ocon later confirmed on social media that there was a disagreement of sorts between himself and the team. With Ocon gone, Hirakawa was set to make his F1 debut.
The Japanese driver hit traffic on his final qualifying lap, lining him up in nineteenth for Sunday’s Grand Prix. In a race filled with on-track incidents and post-race penalties, Hirakawa’s thirteenth-place finish was upgraded to tenth, earning him points in his debut F1 Grand Prix.
“I was trying to learn from what others were doing, and maybe the first stint was tough, but I learned a lot,” he said post-race.
“After the Safety Car, with the soft compound, I had more confidence and, after the last one, I had much more confidence and passed two cars, so I’m happy to finish like that.”
At this time, Haas has not announced if Ocon will be back to race with the team for any more races this season, so we will have to wait and see who will be taking the wheel over at Haas.
Looking Ahead
Now that the top spot of the Driver’s Championship is settled, a heated battle for second place is underway. Additionally, the Constructor’s Championship is still in action, with Mercedes gearing up to take the win in Brazil this weekend. Ferrari is setting in for second, with Red Bull and McLaren hashing it out for third.
Edited by Marit Everett
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