The 2026 F1 Mexico City GP is a historic one already, with Lewis Hamilton starting on pole for the first time at Ferrari. Add to that a possible youngest world champion after the 71 planned laps, and there is a recipe for an exciting race.
After being disqualified from qualifying, Racing Bulls have opted to start Liam Lawson from pit lane. This will allow them to fine-tune the setup and perhaps escape the possible chaos in turn 1. Another headline is of course the impromptu debut of Ryō Hirakawa, who replaced Esteban Ocon mid-weekend.
Ferrari drivers force each other off the track, Verstappen profits
With the first row being traditionally vulnerable at the start, the tensions were rising high after the formation lap. The best getaway was for Max Verstappen who takes third while Charles Leclerc takes the fight to Hamilton. George Russell has the poorest getaway as he drops to fifth.
Into turn 4, Leclerc challenges Hamilton on the outside, and both drivers take to the grass. Hamilton returns to the track immediately, while Leclerc cuts the corner. Verstappen seizes the opportunity and overtakes Hamilton in turn 6. His team mate Isack Hadjar is tapped around by Russell, and drops to the back of the field.
Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto also had a great start and find themselves ahead of both McLarens. Lando Norris quickly disposes of Colapinto however, as both Ferrari drivers are under investigation for their first lap shenanigans.
An abysmal weekend for Aston Martin continues as Lance Stroll is ordered to stop the car at the same moment as Fernando Alonso stops in the pits. The Virtual Safety Car is out to safely recover the AMR26. Hadjar decides it is time to switch to the medium tyres, as he has little left to lose.
With the stricken car out of the way at turn 6, the green flag flies and Kimi Antonelli makes sure he puts the pressure on Hamilton. Two places ahead, Leclerc is trying to create a gap to Verstappen, by setting the fastest lap.
Both McLarens are coming forward, as Piastri is following Norris in passing Colapinto and Lindblad. Meanwhile Russell is under investigation for his first lap collision with Hadjar.
Leclerc pushes to negate a five-second penalty
Both incidents under investigation are resolved quite quickly after eachother. Leclerc receives a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, whereas Russell get a ten-second penalty for causing a collision. The former much to the dismay of Verstappen and Hamilton, who expected a harsher punishment for the race leader.
A bit further back, Norris is on the gearbox of Russell, but since both have a Mercedes power unit, little happens in terms of track position.
First regular pit stop is for Pierre Gasly, who loses the soft tyres and switches to the mediums. Other drivers follow as Ollie Bearman overtakes Gabriel Bortoleto for 11th.
Verstappen manages to stay within the five-second window from Leclerc, at the moment, meaning he is very much still in the mix for the win. Behind him, Antonelli has let go of Hamilton, as his tyres are probably overheating too much.
Hometown hero Sergio Pérez is currently in 13th in his 300th GP start, well ahead of his team mate Valtteri Bottas who is currently in 19th.
McLaren is asserting whether Norris would be quicker in clean air, but without a gap to drop into, that clean air is rare. Team mate Piastri overshoots turn 12 a little, but besides a deleted lap time it doesn’t cost him anything.
Verstappen gambles on long soft tyre stint by stopping together with Leclerc
With Verstappen hanging back around the five-second mark it is his team mate Hadjar who is making the moves, as he is past Carlos Sainz for 14th. Piastri is the first to box of the top teams, and he comes back behind Bortoleto.
Leclerc stops the next lap, and Verstappen decides to join him. The Dutchman swaps to the soft tyres and is away before Ferrari starts the actual stop. Hamilton follows a lap later, and with a 2.5 second stop he gets out back behind his team mate.
All this means Antonelli leads the race from Russell and Norris. His team tells him that his best bet is to stay out for a safety car. Piastri shows why, as he is stuck in traffic.
Verstappen sets the initial fastest lap after the pit stops, but Hamilton immediately takes it over. The seven-time champion is disgruntled and tries to get back at his team mate.
Piastri gets past Bearman, finally, as Hamilton again improves the fastest lap. Russell takes his pit stop and time penalty, which drops him behind Colapinto. The Argentine driver stops on the next lap, handing Russell a bit of clean air.
The lead is still for Antonelli, who is told by his race engineer Bono that the lap times are still pretty good. However, Verstappen is closing in, and with Norris going to the pits, there is little in the way of the Red Bull driver closing the gap further. Unfortunately is is a poor stop for him, but with Russell’s penalty, there is little damage other than some time lost.
Red flag after Bottas’ suspension failure causes a big crash
As Antonelli is doing a monster stint on his soft tyres, Bearman stops and barely misses the pit entry bollard. The performance on the softs by Antonelli is good news for Verstappen as well, who managed to increase the gap to Leclerc a little. Hadjar and Albon take their second stops of the day, dropping them down the order again.
The stint length is 43 laps eventually, as Antonelli makes his stop. It is a slow one and drops him to fourth, with about 12 seconds to make up towards a possible podium.
The safety car where Mercedes was hoping for comes a lap late, as Bottas has a significant crash in turn 1. Hamilton can take a stop, which drops him to fourth. Unlucky for him, the red flag comes out, as the barrier will require some repairs. The best news however is that Bottas can get out under his own power.
Replay shows that the Cadillac’s left-front suspension gives way under braking, making the Finn a passenger towards the wall. Replay shows as well that Gasly exits the pits under a red light, but the signal was given at an unfortunate moment.
Feisty restart by Hamilton as Leclerc has a major lock-up
A bit of a lucky break for Hamilton with the restart order, as he is third instead of fourth because of the countback. Gasly is also not penalised for exiting the pits while it was closed, so the teams can prepare themselves for a second start. The stewards however were not done yet, as Pérez gets a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Race direction calls a standing start, meaning the drivers will again make the 830 meter dash to the first turn. The best getaway this time is for Hamilton who takes the position from Leclerc, who had a major lock-up. Hamilton tries to hang it around the outside of Verstappen, but the Dutchman shoves him wide.
At the start of the next lap Antonelli takes P3 from Leclerc with a great braking manoeuvre, which puts the Ferrari driver under pressure from Norris.
Hamilton tries to pressurise Verstappen, as the incident between the two drivers is noted. In the meantime Bearman is wheeled back into the pit box to retire.
More incidents are noted as Hülkenberg is investigated for a collision and Verstappen is noted for being out of position. A quick decision by the stewards hands the Audi driver a ten-second time penalty for hitting Bearman. They clear Verstappen from any wrongdoing moments later.
Leclerc is still under pressure from Norris as the flat spot on his tyre makes the Ferrari difficult to drive. Verstappen meanwhile manages to get away from the pressure from Hamilton. The Briton seems to have a cooling issue, as he goes out of the sliptstream of the Red Bull.
Norris keeps putting the pressure on Leclerc. As he shows up in the mirrors of Leclerc, Carlos Sainz is noted for moving before the signal. However, again no further action is warranted.
Verstappen wins despite pressure, Antonelli world champion
With 13 laps to go Lindblad is in the wall, meaning the safety car is out again. Replay reveals Piastri tries to hang it around the outside, but makes contact with the Racing Bulls car. This sends it in the air and into the wall. The McLaren itself is also damaged, making the final few laps a difficult task for Piastri. To add insult to injury, the incident is also under investigation.
The race is going back to green with 9 laps to go, and Verstappen goes early. Hamilton follows, but cannot get close enough for a move. Behind them Gasly mows the grass in turn 2, forcing him to relent positions to Colapinto and Lawson.
Antonelli hangs back a second behind the dogfight between Verstappen and Hamilton, knowing his championship is secured with this result.
With five laps to go the gap between the top two is still around half a second, while Leclerc is still struggling on his flat-spotted tyres. Norris hasn’t got the top speed, but the Ferrari has it difficult in every corner. However, Norris cannot manage to get better traction and launch a proper attack.
In the penultimate lap Norris gets alongside of Leclerc, but cannot manage to complete the move into turn 1. He tries again in turn 4, but somehow Leclerc can hang on.
The last lap does not throw any curveballs anymore, despite Norris’ best efforts. Max Verstappen wins the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP from Hamilton, but 73 years after Alberto Ascari, Kimi Antonelli becomes F1 youngest F1 World Champion. Behind them Leclerc hangs on to fourth from Norris and Russell. Piastri is in seventh, although an investigation is still pending. Colapinto is eighth from an impressive Lawson, as Gasly completes the top 10.
