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Antonelli becomes world champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico

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In short

Antonelli crossed the finish line less than two seconds behind Verstappen and Hamilton after navigating a tight three-car train in the final laps. A red flag caused by Valtteri Bottas crashing his Cadillac into the barriers disrupted the grand prix, but Antonelli stayed composed and overtook Charles Leclerc on the restart. Meanwhile, Verstappen secured his third victory in four races by exploiting an opening-lap skirmish between the two Ferrari drivers.

Key points

  • Antonelli secured the Formula 1 drivers' championship with several races remaining on the…: Antonelli secured the Formula 1 drivers' championship with several races remaining on the season calendar.
  • Verstappen capitalized on an early scrap between Ferrari teammates to take his third win…: Verstappen capitalized on an early scrap between Ferrari teammates to take his third win across four races.
  • Charles Leclerc received a five-second penalty for cutting a corner during an aggressive…: Charles Leclerc received a five-second penalty for cutting a corner during an aggressive contest with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

- Published

Kimi Antonelli clinched his first world title and became the youngest champion in Formula 1 history by finishing third at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Antonelli - 20 years and 68 days old - finished the race in third, behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

His moment of glory came on a day when tensions at Ferrari between seven-time champion Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc came close to boiling over.

Antonelli drove a composed race amid some hectic action involving the other front-runners in a grand prix interrupted by a red flag that led to a 25-lap sprint to the finish.

The Italian, a teenager until late August, spent the closing laps watching Hamilton try to get close enough to pass Verstappen after the two had made contact at the first chicane at the restart.

But Hamilton found it impossible to get his Ferrari close enough to Verstappen to try to pass and ended the day frustrated and feeling a win had slipped through his fingers as a consequence of Leclerc's aggression on the first…

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