Antonelli clinched F1 title with third in Mexico
NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 2, 2026
Antonelli Sealed Title
Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest world champion at 20 after his third-place finish in Mexico City. The milestone changed the shape of the season and put his name in the record book. The result also left George Russell watching the title celebration from a different place in the garage, after a difficult race of his own turned into a major missed opportunity for Mercedes. Russell had started second on the grid and went into the race with a clear chance to fight at the front, but the day unraveled quickly and opened the door for Antonelli to finish the job in third.
Russell’s Mexico
Russell’s race fell apart almost from the start. He said an opening-lap deployment problem cost him a chance to fight for victory, then took a 10-second penalty for a first-lap collision with Isack Hadjar. That combination pushed him out of contention and left him to finish sixth in Mexico City with eight points, a result that did nothing to help his position in the championship fight. The frustration showed after the checkered flag. Russell called the race very disappointing and said Mercedes had let him down, a blunt assessment from a driver who had begun the afternoon in a strong position. Instead of challenging for the win he had envisioned, Russell spent the race dealing with the consequences of a broken start and a costly early incident.
Mercedes Reaction
Mercedes felt the fallout from Russell’s race as well. The team excused him from post-race media duties because he was distraught, and Mercedes were fined €5,000 for his missed interviews. Toto Wolff backed that decision and said Mercedes had “completely let him down,” while also saying he understood why Russell was distraught after the race. The remarks framed the afternoon as more than a poor result, they underlined how badly the team had mishandled a driver in a position to contend. Russell later congratulated Antonelli in parc fermé after the race, a gesture that closed the loop on an afternoon that mixed celebration and disappointment for Mercedes. Antonelli’s title run gave the team a champion to celebrate, but Russell’s comments and Wolff’s reaction showed the scale of the frustration inside the garage after Mexico City. Russell also dropped from second to fourth in the standings after the race, a further sign of how much the missed chance cost him. For Mercedes, the day ended with one driver making history and another left to absorb the kind of defeat that can linger long after the paddock clears out.
