Antonelli wins 2026 F1 title with third place in Mexico as Russell's race is undone by battery fault

Kimi Antonelli secured the 2026 Formula 1 world championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the youngest world drivers' champion in the sport's history. Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin praised the 20-year-old's tyre management in the opening stint, which took him beyond 40 laps on the soft compound before a red flag on lap 45 erased the advantage.

After the restart from fourth, Antonelli made a move on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to regain a podium position, finishing third behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Shovlin said he had driven superbly across the season.

Teammate George Russell, starting second, suffered a battery deployment failure before the first braking zone, losing several positions. He later received a 10-second penalty for spinning Isack Hadjar at Turn 6, which Shovlin said was not Russell's fault in the early issue.