ON TODAYS PROGRAM…

KIMI IS NOW FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION!

LCH AND LECLERC TWO LIONS IN A CAGE!

ALMOST FORGOT…MAX WINS IN MEXICO AND…..

FERNANDO SAYS….THIS THING SUCKS!!!

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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – NOVEMBER 01: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari lift 2026 F1 World Drivers Champion and third placed Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team onto their shoulders on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on November 01, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Kimi Antonelli Becomes Youngest Ever World Champion with Mexico Podium!!

Kimi Antonelli

It’s difficult to put into words what I’m feeling right now. I’m still trying to process it all, but to be able to say that I am world champion is just incredible. This is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. We’ve had an amazing season and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. From very early on, we had a strong car and were able to be consistent, and that gave us the belief that we could fight for the championship.

I wouldn’t be here without this team and without all the people and partners who have supported me throughout my career. Mercedes has believed in me for so many years and given me this incredible opportunity, so to repay that trust by winning the World Championship together means so much. I also have to thank my family, my friends and everyone who has been there for me along the way.

I definitely felt more tension coming into this weekend, knowing what was possible, so to get it done today is a huge relief and an amazing feeling. Finishing on the podium made it even more special and sharing it with Max (Verstappen) and Lewis (Hamilton) was really cool. We still have races to go and we want to finish the season strongly by clinching the Constructors’ Championship, but tonight we’re definitely going to enjoy this moment together as a team.

George Russell

Firstly, congratulations to Kimi on a thoroughly deserved championship. He has done a fantastic job this season and can be incredibly proud of what he has achieved.

Unfortunately, it was a very disappointing race on my side. I made a good start and was in a strong position, but then we suffered an issue which caused me to not have full deployment down the straight. That cost us a lot of positions and ultimately took us out of contention for a strong result. It’s frustrating to have the race compromised by something outside of my control but that is racing.

We will reset after this weekend and look to come back stronger in Brazil. We still have a Constructors’ Championship to win and my full focus is on helping the team achieve that.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

What Kimi has achieved today is extraordinary. To become Formula 1 World Champion at 20 years old, and to do it in only his second season, is a remarkable achievement. But what makes me most proud is not the record or the statistics, it is the journey he has been on to get here.

There were difficult moments last year. There were people who questioned whether he was ready for Formula One and whether he deserved to be in a Mercedes. We always believed in his talent and knew those difficult experiences would make him stronger. To see the way he has responded this season, the confidence he has built and the level at which he is now performing is incredibly satisfying. We saw that maturity again today. He managed the first stint extremely well, stayed patient when the red flag took away the advantage he had created, and then made the move when he needed to after the restart. To deliver that performance with a World Championship on the line says a lot about him.

We also have to acknowledge George. Today was another race where we didn’t give him the platform to show what he could do. The deployment issue at the start immediately compromised his afternoon and, although the incident and penalty made his race more difficult, he kept fighting and brought the car home in P6. There have been too many occasions this season where we have let George down, and he has deserved more from us. His contribution to what we have achieved this year has been immense, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that today.

This is a tremendous moment for everyone at Brackley and Brixworth, and all those associated with the team. Championships are never won by one individual. There are so many people who have contributed, both here at the track and back at the factories, and they should all feel incredibly proud tonight. Thank you to Mercedes-AMG for their continued support, our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and so many more. We all believed in Kimi from a very young age and today he is a Formula One World Champion. That is a very special moment for all of us.

Verstappen second in Drivers’ Championship after Mexican Grand Prix victory·

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen delivered an inspired drive during a chaotic Mexico Grand Prix to surge from fifth on the grid to claim a superb victory for the third time this season as Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli secured the 2026 Formula One Drivers’ Championship.

After locking-up during his final lap during Saturday’s qualifying sessions, Verstappen qualified in fourth place for Sunday’s race at the high-altitude Mexico City circuit. He was then dropped down to fifth courtesy of a one-place grid penalty handed down to him and Visa Cash APP Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson after a collision during Friday practice.

Knowing he needed a good start on a circuit with limited passing opportunities, Verstappen got a brilliant jump as the lights went out in Mexico, jumping up to second place in the opening few corners as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went off track battling for the lead.

Leclerc held the lead over Verstappen until both drivers pitted and the Ferrari driver served a five-second penalty for his first lap tangle with Hamilton, allowing Verstappen to take the lead for the first time.

From there, the Dutchman controlled the race and perfectly, despite the race being red flagged on Lap 46 after damage to the safety barriers, the risk of a full standing restart and a late Safety Car period.

He crossed the line just +0.799s ahead of Hamilton to secure his third win of the season, achieved in the space of only four races, while third place was enough make Antonelli the youngest ever F1 world champion.

The title is out of reach, but courtesy of his win there was more to cheer for Verstappen, who moved up to second place in the Drivers’ Championship by two points ahead of Hamilton.

It was a tough race for Isack Hadjar in the second RB22, who was shunted into a spin on the opening lap by Mercedes driver George Russell and could only recover to 12th place despite pushing hard.

There was another points-scoring driver for Liam Lawson and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls with the New Zealander coming home in ninth position, but Arvid Lindblad left Mexico with a disappointing DNF after being hit by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri late in the Grand Prix.

QUOTES

Oracle Red Bull Racing

MAX VERSTAPPEN – 1st

“It was a crazy race today and the first start and lap were crucial to the result. The team also made all the right calls: on both the strategy and when we went to box and take the lead from Charles on the penalty. Even after the red flag we had a really good start and, after that, it was just keeping the lead until the end. Ferrari were fast, but we executed everything well today, so it was amazing to get the win. Well done to Kimi, he has done such an incredible job this year, made barely any mistakes and he really deserves to win the championship. To achieve it at such a young age is amazing and it was a very special podium: I think it had to be that way with the three of us standing there with him. It was a really nice moment.”

ISACK HADJAR – 12th

“Today was a real shame. We knew there was pace in the car coming into the race, so we just wanted to focus on getting a good start and that’s exactly what we did. I managed to get up to fifth and felt really strong through the first few corners. Unfortunately, George stuck a wheel up the inside at T6 and I was sent straight to the back. From then on, it was going to be so difficult to get back into the points. We pitted onto the Medium and in the free air I could feel the pace, but overtaking on this track is very tricky. We got unlucky with the Safety Car timing and then, on the second restart, I went backwards again as I got closed onto the grass. It’s not been an ideal weekend, but the car was very fast and our starts were good, so there are definitely positives heading into Brazil. Lastly, a big congrats to Kimi. He’s been so impressive and it was such a mature drive from him today to win the championship!”

LAURENT MEKIES – CEO & Team Principal

“First of all, huge congratulations to Kimi on winning the world championship today. He has performed at an incredibly high level and should be extremely proud of what he and his team have accomplished.

“For us, this is our third win in the last four races with Max and a testament to the talent, hard work and spirit we have in the team. Everyone at the track and back in Milton Keynes did an outstanding job this weekend to turn the car around in difficult conditions and deliver this very special win.

“Max drove a pure masterclass and extracted every millisecond from the car and every millimetre from the track to deal with all the circumstances thrown at him today. It was far from straightforward, with the Safety Car, the red flag and the standing starts, but Max delivered in his usual fashion, fought an extremely tight race until the end and won it on merit.

“It was a tough race for Isack after he was hit by George and had to fight his way through from the back of the field. Every time he made progress, the circumstances of the race worked against him, but he kept on going, made a lot of overtakes and ultimately missed out on the points by less than a second.

“I’m very proud of how the team has dealt with all the unique challenges of Mexico, both on the chassis side and the PU side, and of the extraordinary execution level once again. We have a lot we still want to improve in the final races, and we will also take the learnings from this very special win.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Congratulations to Kimi on his first World Championship. It was quite an eventful race, but he did a really good job managing the Soft tyre in the first stint and was able to run it beyond 40 laps. That gave us some useful options for the end of the race, although the red flag effectively reset things and removed the tyre advantage we had created. He restarted P4 but made a very good move on Leclerc to get back into the podium positions and drove a very controlled race from there to take P3 and the title.

He has driven superbly across the season and the way he handled the race today, with everything that was at stake, was another demonstration of the progress he has made. It’s an incredible achievement for him and he should be rightly proud of himself.

George had a difficult afternoon through no fault of his own. The deployment issue on the run to Turn 1 cost him several positions and put him on the back foot from the very start. From there, he was having to recover in traffic and the contact with Hadjar and subsequent penalty made that task harder. He kept his head down, showed good pace and fought back to P6. It’s frustrating because we didn’t give him the start to the race that he needed and that is on us as team.

We have plenty to focus on as we head to Brazil We want to add the Constructors’ Championship to the Drivers’ title, and we know we still must deliver the performances to do that. We’ll enjoy today, then turn our attention very quickly to the next race.

TEAM PRINCIPAL

” A long and tough day today. Arvid drove an absolutely superb race and has had a fantastic weekend overall. He nailed the start and continued to chip away gaining two, three, even four tenths a lap, all while managing his tyres. The crash with Piastri was an unfortunate end to an exemplary weekend and it’s a small consolation that Oscar received a penalty.

“Liam also had a challenging race. The penalty from qualifying put us on the back foot, but we took the opportunity to fit a fresh power unit, which he would have needed to take at some point this season anyway. With Alpine’s penalty, Liam ultimately finished seventh, having started from the pitlane, which is an incredible effort and a great result for the team.

“We leave today with some valuable points and plenty of positives to take forward as we head to Brazil next week to close out the triple header.”