Kimi Antonelli stands on the brink of becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history at the Mexican Grand Prix, the 19th round of the season. The 20-year-old Italian, who has led the standings since the spring, started third on the grid and needed only to finish ninth or better on Sunday, or to see neither Lewis Hamilton nor George Russell win, to seal the crown.
On track, the race turned into one of the season's most turbulent afternoons. Hamilton had taken the first pole position of his Ferrari career, his 105th overall, by nine thousandths of a second from Russell, ending a 1,198-day wait for a pole and giving the Scuderia its first of the year. He kept the lead at the start, but Russell was quickly passed by Charles Leclerc, and a fierce fight between the two Ferraris ended with Leclerc ahead and Max Verstappen slipping through as well.
Hamilton complained over the radio that he had been pushed wide by his own teammate, and the stewards opened an investigation into the scrap. Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty, which he still had to serve while building a five-second cushion over Verstappen, and Hamilton, feeling wronged by the situation, wanted the position back. Russell was hit with a ten-second penalty for causing Hadjar's spin at the start of the race and served it at the pits on lap 36, rejoining sixth.
Leclerc and Verstappen pitted on lap 28, with Hamilton briefly inheriting the lead for a single tour before stopping a lap later on a one-stop strategy. Antonelli then moved to the front around lap 30, ahead of Russell and with Lando Norris lurking third, hoping for a safety car to hand him a free stop. Verstappen, on a run of six consecutive podiums and chasing a third win of the season, was told by his engineer Giampiero Lambiase to reproduce his Mexico magic, though his soft tyres were not ideally suited to going the distance.
Hadjar's afternoon had begun badly, the Red Bull driver spinning on the opening lap and rejoining last before climbing to 12th by lap 32. His weekend had already been eventful: stewards issued him a formal warning on Saturday for pushing a spectator in the paddock on Friday. Hadjar said he was late for his garage ahead of first practice, had already stopped for a photo with a young fan and had been approached aggressively by another supporter.
Aston Martin endured a double retirement, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll stopping after only seven laps, the Canadian's sixth retirement in eight races. Sergio Perez, confirmed by Cadillac until 2029, was running 13th on his 300th career Grand Prix at home and chasing a first points finish of the season, having never done better than 14th this year.
Esteban Ocon was absent from the race, dropped by Haas before Saturday's running. The Frenchman spoke of a divergence of points of view with his team and categorically denied rumours of a physical altercation with team principal Ayao Komatsu, and was replaced for Sunday by Ryo Hirakawa.
Behind the drivers' title, the constructors' championship remains live, with Mercedes holding a 133-point advantage over Ferrari. Pierre Gasly started ninth and Hadjar seventh, while Liam Lawson was due to start from the pit lane.
Sources: Le Figaro.