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Kimi Antonelli, 20, becomes Formula 1's youngest world champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico City

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli clinched the 2026 Formula 1 world championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday 1 November 2026, finishing third — behind race winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) — to become, at 20 years and 68 days, the youngest champion in the sport's history, breaking Sebastian Vettel's 2010 record. Antonelli had needed only a top-nine finish to seal the title with four races to spare. The 71-lap race was red-flagged after a heavy crash for Valtteri Bottas; his Cadillac team said he was released from the medical centre and is OK.

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Updated 1 Nov, 23:23 UTC

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Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole for Ferrari at the Mexico City Grand Prix, beating George Russell by 0.009 seconds

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, Formula 1's official site confirmed on Saturday 31 October 2026 in its own qualifying report, read directly in this run — a final lap of 1 minute 16.514 seconds beat Mercedes' George Russell by just 0.009 seconds. It is Hamilton's first pole for Ferrari, Ferrari's first pole of the 2026 season and the 105th pole of his career. His team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified third, 0.119 seconds back. Max Verstappen was fourth fastest but carries a one-place grid penalty and starts fifth, so championship leader Kimi Antonelli — fifth fastest — starts fourth. BBC Sport notes Hamilton, 41, is the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti in 1982, and that this is his first pole since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.

VerifiedLewis Hamilton took pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix with a final qualifying lap of 1:16.514 — his first pole for Ferrari, Ferrari's first pole of the 2026 season and the 105th pole of his Formula 1 career — beating George Russell (Mercedes) by 0.009 seconds, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari, 0.119 seconds back.
VerifiedBehind the top three, Max Verstappen was fourth fastest but will start fifth after a one-place grid penalty, so championship leader Kimi Antonelli — fifth fastest — starts fourth. Lando Norris starts sixth, ahead of Isack Hadjar; Liam Lawson qualified eighth but also carries a one-place grid penalty and starts ninth, with his team-mate Arvid Lindblad moving up to eighth; Pierre Gasly rounds out the top ten.
VerifiedThe session's shocks came earlier: Oscar Piastri was eliminated in Q2 and qualified only 13th, Fernando Alonso was eliminated in Q1 after Aston Martin ordered him to abandon the session with a suspected water-pressure issue linked to the ERS system, and Haas's Ryo Hirakawa — standing in for Esteban Ocon this weekend — finished 19th in his first Formula 1 qualifying session.

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31 Oct, 22:43 UTC

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Haas replace Esteban Ocon with reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa for the rest of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend

Haas have replaced Esteban Ocon with their Japanese reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa for the remainder of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, the team confirmed in its own statement on Saturday morning, 31 October 2026, carried in full by Formula 1's official site and read directly in this run. Hirakawa, 32, had already driven Ocon's VF-26 in Friday's first practice, finishing 15th, and will now partner Ollie Bearman through final practice and qualifying on Saturday and Sunday's 71-lap Grand Prix — his Formula 1 race debut. Haas gave no reason for the change and said no further statements will be made; Reuters reports a team spokesman confirmed the replacement was not due to illness, and that the governing FIA confirmed the change.

VerifiedTGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of the weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Saturday 31 October – Sunday 1 November 2026.
VerifiedHirakawa (32), a two-time winner of the FIA World Endurance Championship (2022, 2023) and the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans winner with Toyota GAZOO Racing, drove Ocon's VF-26 in Friday's first practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez — his third free practice outing of the season — finishing 15th overall. He will partner team-mate Ollie Bearman through final practice and qualifying on Saturday and Sunday's 71-lap Grand Prix, which will be his Formula 1 race debut. He has been a Haas reserve driver since 2025.
VerifiedHaas gave no reason for the change: its statement ends 'No further statements will be made at this time.' A team spokesman told Reuters the replacement was not due to illness but gave no further details. Ocon is due to leave Haas at the end of the season, with Brazilian Rafael Camara moving up from Formula Two for 2027, per Reuters.

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31 Oct, 15:46 UTC

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