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Kimi Antonelli made history in Mexico as he sealed his status as Formula One's youngest ever champion. Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix, holding off a late challenge from Lewis Hamilton who had spent most of the day behind Charles Leclerc before being unleashed late on, only to be held frustratingly behind the Red Bull. But the day belonged to Antonelli who never caught fire over the weekend, but didn't need to such was his advantage in the standings. Ninth or better was enough to seal his crown and he finished on the podium in the end.
Hamilton started a grand prix on pole for the first time as a Ferrari driver but he lost out in a lap-one battle with Leclerc. But Hamilton was aggrieved with how his team-mate got past, complaining over the radio: "I got pushed out by my own team-mate."
Leclerc went off track while battling with the seven-time world champion and was given a five-second penalty. As Hamilton pointed out, though: "He's got clean air and doesn't have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the positions back."
Hamilton had also lost out to Max Verstappen as a result of Leclerc's aggressive push for the lead. So he was running third and George Russell fifth, the Brit given a 10-second time penalty for spinning Isack Hadjar around on lap one. Antonelli was fourth but, with neither of his two closest challengers leading, the title was going to him anyway.
Hamilton had more reason for complaint as Ferrari pulled him in for a second pit stop after Valtteri Bottas suffered a massive crash. Seconds later, the race was red-flagged – the barrier the Cadillac slammed into needed extensive repairs and the race was stopped for 40 minutes in the end.
It looked to have dropped Hamilton a further place behind Antonelli, but he got a reprieve as race control were forced to use the restart order from the previous lap, so Hamilton kept third on the grid. And that proved vital as it meant he was on the cleaner side of the track when the lights went out again and that allowed him to get back ahead of Leclerc.
Hamilton battled Verstappen briefly for the lead but the Red Bull driver had him covered. The Brit was the fastest man on track, setting some of the best lap times of the race, but could not find a way to get close enough to the Dutchman as the Ferraris still struggle with overheating when running behind another car for too long.
Verstappen held off Hamilton to the chequered flag, but as those two F1 titans duelled, the sport's newest champion was born. And Antonelli got over the line with a podium finish, a comfortable third ahead of Leclerc in the end.
Big moments. Packed grandstands. A championship battle that’s heating up.
When the Formula 1 season delivers like this, watching from home just isn’t the same as being there when the lights go out.
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