2026 F1 Mexican GP: The Race in Five Acts

A civil war in red. A victory in blue. And a coronation in black.

For those who missed the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix, we present to you the race in five acts.

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, had a good launch off the line. However, the long straight to Turn 1 provided his teammate Charles Leclerc a good amount of slipstream. Leclerc, who started from third, attacked around the outside, resulting in a wheel-to-wheel battle between the Ferrari teammates.

Both of them ran wide, with Leclerc having to run across the grass. The Monegasque emerged ahead of the pack, but was eventually handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. 

Hamilton dropped to third after that opening lap battle. The seven-time World Champion was understandably fuming during and after the race, as Leclerc's bold move cost Ferrari a victory, and possibly a 1-2 in Mexico.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen had himself another good start on a track where he already won six times (counting this race). From fifth on the grid, Verstappen overtook Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in front, and then took advantage of the Ferrari duel to get ahead of Hamilton for second place.

Verstappen still trailed Leclerc through the first stint, but he knew that the Ferrari driver had a five-second penalty. The Dutchman stayed within that range, and followed after Leclerc when they made their first pit stop on Lap 27. With Ferrari serving the penalty, Verstappen easily gained the net lead of the race after their stop.

On Lap 44, Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas was an unfortunate passenger in a heavy crash. His car suddenly suffered a suspension failure and hit the barriers hard. Bottas got out and walked on his own, but the incident triggered a red flag, paving the way for another standing restart.

On the restart, a furious Hamilton had another good launch and this time, dispatched his Ferrari teammate into Turn 1. Immediately after, Leclerc had a huge lock-up that flat-spotted his left front tyre. 

Verstappen kept the lead, with Hamilton, Leclerc, and Antonelli following behind. Then, on Lap 48, Antonelli finally dived down the inside of Leclerc at Turn 1 to take third place. 

It was looking much like a straightforward latter part of the race, but with eight laps remaining, McLaren's Oscar Piastri collided with Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad to bring out a Safety Car.

The final restart left Verstappen under pressure from Hamilton, but the Dutchman held his line and won the race by 0.799 seconds over the Briton.

Antonelli survived a couple of Safety Cars and a standing restart to finish in third and stand on the podium with Verstappen and Hamilton, two multiple-time World Champions. It was a poetic championship-clinching moment for the 20-year-old Italian driver, as he replaces Sebastian Vettel in the record books as the youngest Formula 1 champion.

Verstappen won his sixth Mexican Grand Prix, while Hamilton settled for second for his seventh podium finish of the season.

The race saw five DNFs (Lindblad, Bearman, Bottas, Stroll, Alonso), but there was more to come after the checkered flag. First, Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision with Lindblad, dropping him from 7th to 13th.

Then, both Alpine drivers received hefty penalties for yellow flag infringements. Franco Colapinto (10-second penalty) tumbled from 8th to 15th, while Pierre Gasly (30-second penalty) slid from 10th down to 17th.

As a result, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson was promoted to 7th, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto to 8th, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar to 9th, and amazingly, Haas' Ryo Hirakawa to 10th. 

The 32-year-old Hirakawa, who replaced Esteban Ocon this weekend, scored an important championship point in his debut F1 race.