Verstappen wins, Antonelli takes world title in Mexico
The Dutchman keeps Lewis Hamilton behind him; Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest Formula 1 world champion at the age of 20.
Follow-up to: Verstappen and Lawson receive grid penalties in Mexico Saturday, 31 October 2026, 10:56
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Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. Kimi Antonelli finished third, securing his first Formula 1 world title.
The result follows the grid penalties Verstappen and Liam Lawson received earlier for the Mexican race after a collision during second practice. Verstappen therefore started from fifth place, but ultimately drove to victory, according to NOS.
Verstappen kept Lewis Hamilton behind him in the closing stages. NOS reported that the Dutchman had a lead of less than one second over the Ferrari driver in the final laps. Antonelli was running in third and that was enough to secure the title.
The Mercedes driver is 20 years old, according to NOS. He succeeds Sebastian Vettel as the youngest world champion in Formula 1. Vettel was 23 in 2010 when he won his first world title.
Antonelli is also the third Italian world champion in Formula 1, after Nino Farina and Alberto Ascari. NOS writes that Ascari won the title in 1952 and 1953; 73 years separate Antonelli and Ascari.
The race featured several neutralisations. According to a report from the Cadillac team, Valtteri Bottas ended up in the medical centre after an incident with his Cadillac and was released following a precautionary check. The sporting essence of the evening, however, remains the combination of Verstappen’s victory and Antonelli’s title.
For Verstappen, it is his third victory of the season, according to the headlines in the supplied news feed. For Antonelli, the title means that Mercedes has another world champion, after a season in which the young Italian took control of the championship battle. The remaining races will still determine the final standings and the constructors’ title.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key facts appear in the current NOS live blog and are supported by the official Formula 1 page. Details about the earlier grid penalties were used solely as context from the handover supplied by the editorial team.
- confirmed Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix on 1 November 2026. — NOS live blog, 23:24 update. source
- confirmed Kimi Antonelli became world champion during the race. — NOS reports that he finished third and became world champion for the first time. source
- confirmed Antonelli was 20 years old and became the youngest world champion ever. — NOS mentions both his age and the record. source
- confirmed Antonelli is the third Italian world champion. — NOS names Farina, Ascari and Antonelli as the third Italian champion. source
Editor's note
The race result, Antonelli’s title, his age and the record were confirmed by NOS. The remaining championships have not been elaborated on because no current standings were available in the sources consulted.Sources
The story so far
- Saturday, 31 October 2026, 10:56 Verstappen and Lawson receive grid penalties in Mexico
- Sunday, 1 November 2026, 23:47 Verstappen wins, Antonelli takes world title in Mexico (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „formule 1”
- de Volkskrant — „formule 1”
- RTL Nieuws — „formule 1”