Winners and losers from F1's 2026 Mexican Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli is Formula 1's youngest ever world champion, but the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix will be remembered for Ferrari throwing away a nailed-on one-two. Max Verstappen won from fifth on the grid, and a stack of post-race penalties rewrote the lower half of the order.

Why it matters:

Ferrari locked out the front row on merit and held a one-two at Turn 4. Fred Vasseur's verdict said it all: "When you are 1-2 in Turn 4, you don't imagine that you won't win the race." They didn't. Leclerc cut across the track while fighting Hamilton, took a five-second penalty, and handed Verstappen the opening he needed. On a weekend that should have been their best of the year, it was self-sabotage — and Hamilton has already demanded serious talks.

The details:

• Verstappen was gifted a place when George Russell hit a deployment shortage, then pounced on Hamilton as he was delayed by the Leclerc scrap. Red Bull's stop got him ahead while Leclerc served his penalty, and the red flag spared him a mammoth stint on softs. His restart defence was robust but just about legal.
• Russell finished sixth: deployment trouble, a clipping penalty for contact with Isack Hadjar, and a post-race fine for skipping media duties. A damp squib while his team-mate celebrated.
• Antonelli took third by diving inside Leclerc late — an unnecessary risk that ensured his title celebrations happened on the podium rather than off it.
• Piastri copped 10 seconds for sending Arvid Lindblad into the wall; Lindblad retired but was cleared by the stewards.
• Alpine lost the lot. Colapinto and Gasly crossed seventh and ninth, then both were penalised over yellow flags, leaving them 35 points adrift of Racing Bulls.
• Lawson started from the pitlane after an MGU-K breach and climbed to seventh. Hadjar recovered to ninth for points after being spun by Russell.
• Aston Martin retired both cars inside seven laps. Alonso said Honda "underestimated" the altitude; Honda cited cooling.
• Cadillac had Perez running 13th before a wheelgun issue and a pitlane speeding penalty, while Bottas's violent crash required medical checks.
• Hirakawa, called up mid-weekend, ended his likely one-off as a points scorer in tenth.

What's next:

Ferrari has the pace to win races but not yet the discipline, and Vasseur must now impose order before the squabbling costs them a title. Behind Racing Bulls and Alpine, every point in the constructors' fight is suddenly worth double.