Formula 1 returns to Mexico City this weekend for the Mexican Grand Prix - with Kimi Antonelli set to seal the world championship.
The 20-year-old Italian holds a 123-point lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell and a 124-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton after his victory in Austin last time out. If Antonelli finishes ninth or higher in Mexico, he will be crowned world champion and, even if he doesn’t, Russell or Hamilton need to win the grand prix to extend the title race to Brazil.
Antonelli cruised to victory from pole in Texas, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third. Hamilton missed out on a podium, while an early penalty resulted in Russell finishing a lowly eighth.
Lando Norris won last year’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, on his way to his maiden world title. After missing out last year, Sergio Perez returns to his home race off the back of signing a new contract with Cadillac this week.
Follow live coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix with The Independent.
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F1 MEXICAN GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- Round 19 of the 2026 season takes place in Mexico City
- Qualifying in Mexico takes place at 9pm GMT
- Kimi Antonelli is on the cusp of his first world championship
- If Antonelli finishes ninth or higher on Sunday, he will be the champion
- Esteban Ocon dropped for Ryo Hirakawa at Haas
Ten minutes until qualifying
20:50 , Kieran JacksonAs shown by those times in final practice, it feels relatively open!
Kimi Antonelli has to be the favourite but Ferrari were quick, as were McLaren with a late surge.
And you definitely can’t write off Max Verstappen!
What was the top-10 in FP3?
20:45 , Kieran Jackson1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:17.600
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.001
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.117
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.195
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.351
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.469
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.507
8. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.509
9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.513
10. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.537
How Kimi Antonelli can win 2026 F1 title in Mexico City without even finishing race
20:40 , Kieran JacksonAntonelli has a 123-point lead over second-placed Russell and a 124-point lead over Hamilton, with 125 points left on the table this season. After this round in Mexico City, there will be 100 points left to play for.
As such, to win the title in Mexico City, Antonelli only needs to finish ninth or higher in Sunday’s race.
Ninth would give him two points and while Russell could win the race and be 100 points behind, the Briton cannot catch the Italian’s race wins tally for the season, which is the tiebreaker if scores are level.
However, even if Antonelli retires or finishes outside the top-10, he could still pick up the title. At a minimum, Russell or Hamilton need to win the grand prix to stretch the title race to Brazil next week.
Laurent Mekies dismisses Christian Horner’s Red Bull claims over team spirit
20:29 , Kieran JacksonLaurent Mekies dismissed Christian Horner’s claim that Red Bull have “lost their mojo” since his departure.
“Christian is entitled to his opinion. He obviously spent a lot of time in this team,” Mekies said during this weekend’s race in Mexico City. I respect his point of view. We certainly feel extremely differently about the vibe in the team.
“I think one of the strong points we’ve been drawing on, certainly in the last few months, is the incredible team spirit that has allowed us to come back from an objectively very difficult moment.
“We certainly had a challenging first part of the year, chassis side and power unit side, and the way the team stuck together, the way the team set the Milton Keynes department on fire to try to come back, and the way they have done that… I think that’s the Red Bull spirit.”
Constructor standings ahead of Mexican GP
20:15 , Kieran Jackson1. Mercedes - 607 points
2. Ferrari - 474 points
3. Red Bull - 355 points
4. McLaren - 355 points
5. Racing Bulls - 102 points
6. Alpine - 69 points
7. Haas - 30 points
8. Audi - 23 points
9. Williams - 12 points
10. Aston Martin - 7 points
11. Cadillac - 0 points
Verstappen and Lawson's clash in FP2 on Friday
20:00 , Kieran JacksonMax and Liam coming too close for comfort 👀 pic.twitter.com/nWrTq1OOEJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 30, 2026
PIECE: Why Kimi Antonelli will be F1’s most surprising champion in 17 years
19:45 , Kieran JacksonRewinding the clock can prove to be a humbling experience. The ambiguity and anticipation of pre-season guessing games – the inevitable pattern of predictions leading up to day one – can either prove to be a massive feather in the cap come the end of the season (cc. 2025 title prediction) or an article/video to write off.
Yet as this year’s Formula 1 season draws to a close, it is most certainly the latter.
All seven of Sky Sports’ experts? Wrong. BBC pundits? Wrong. Yours truly? Wrong. And not just wrong: barely a soul mentioned Kimi Antonelli above George Russell in the 2026 F1 championship stakes. Some bookies, in and around February testing, had the Italian as low as seventh-favourite.
Full piece below:
Top-10 - Driver standings ahead of Mexican GP
19:30 , Kieran Jackson1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 365 points
2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 242 points
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 241 points
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 236 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 233 points
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 211 points
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 144 points
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 105 points
9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 77 points
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 42 points
Esteban Ocon’s F1 career could be over after shock early axe by Haas in Mexico
19:15 , Kieran JacksonEsteban Ocon could have raced in Formula 1 for the last time after being axed by Haas for reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Ocon’s contract with Haas expires at the end of the year and he will be replaced by Brazilian driver and current F2 championship leader Rafael Camara for the 2027 season.
However, Ocon, who won the 2021 Hungarian GP with Alpine, was expected to complete the rest of the 2026 campaign alongside Ollie Bearman.
Yet after appearing in second practice on Friday and getting embroiled in a row over tyres with race engineer Laura Muller, Haas released a statement on Saturday confirming that 31-year-old Japanese driver Hirakawa will take Ocon’s place for the rest of the weekend.
More detail below:
Esteban Ocon’s F1 career could be over after shock early axe by Haas in Mexico
Top-10 in FP3
18:45 , Kieran Jackson1. Lando Norris
2. Kimi Antonelli
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Oscar Piastri
5. Max Verstappen
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. George Russell
8. Isack Hadjar
9. Liam Lawson
10. Arvid Lindblad
Lando Norris quickest in FP3
18:36 , Kieran JacksonRight at the end, Norris nips Antonelli at the top - by 0.001 seconds!
3-10: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Hadjar, Lawson, Lindblad
Onto qualifying we go! Four different teams in the top-five bodes well!
Verstappen angry
18:27 , Kieran Jackson“These brakes are so terrible.”
Verstappen P5 at the moment, as Antonelli goes top of the tree by 0.151 secs!
Final laps coming in now...
Leclerc goes top
18:14 , Kieran JacksonWe’ve been here before in practice, but Ferrari do look quick.
Leclerc has now gone top, 0.010 secs faster than Hamilton.
Antonelli remains in third, as teammate Russell asks for more grip and asks his team to give him the same plan as the Italian.
15 mins to go in FP3!
Lewis Hamilton quickest
18:03 , Kieran JacksonHalfway through the session now and Hamilton has gone fastest by 0.020 secs, leading a Ferrari one-two with Charles Leclerc.
3-10: Antonelli, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Noris, Hadjar, Lawson, Gasly
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar:
18:01 , Kieran Jackson”Oh my god, it’s the worst car all weekend, terrible.”
He’s currently P8...
Antonelli quickest early on
17:51 , Kieran JacksonOn-track, there are still some drivers who have not set a time as they come out in drips and drabs.
After 20 minutes, Antonelli is fastest, two-tenths quicker than George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton is third.
4-10: Piastri, Gasly, Lindblad, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Stroll
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu speaking to Sky Sports:
17:46 , Kieran JacksonOn Ocon being dropped: “I can’t tell you much, he’s not ill.
“I can’t go into details.”
Not much to garner from that then...
Ryo Hirakawa in for Esteban Ocon
17:36 , Kieran JacksonThe big news of the day is that Esteban Ocon won’t take part in the rest of the grand prix weekend for Haas.
Instead, his place has been taken by 31-year-old Japanese reserve Ryo Hirakawa. Haas haven’t divulged any more details, but acknowledged that Ocon’s removal wasn’t down to illness.
Ocon is obviously leaving Haas at the end of the season anyway. Have we seen the last of the Frenchman in Formula 1?
FP3 underway in Mexico
17:33 , Kieran JacksonThe third and final hour of practice is underway under bright blue skies in Mexico City.
Immediately, there is an issue with Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi engine...
Start times this weekend in Mexico City:
17:27 , Kieran JacksonTimes GMT
Saturday 31 October
- Free practice 3: 5:30pm
- Qualifying: 9pm
Sunday 1 November
- Race: 8pm
Qualifying in Mexico City
17:26 , Kieran JacksonFormula 1 returns to Mexico City this weekend for the Mexican Grand Prix - with Kimi Antonelli set to seal the world championship.
The 20-year-old Italian holds a 123-point lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell and a 124-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton after his victory in Austin last time out. If Antonelli finishes ninth or higher in Mexico, he will be crowned world champion and, even if he doesn’t, Russell or Hamilton need to win the grand prix to extend the title race to Brazil.
Antonelli cruised to victory from pole in Texas, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third. Hamilton missed out on a podium, while an early penalty resulted in Russell finishing a lowly eighth.
Lando Norris won last year’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, on his way to his maiden world title. After missing out last year, Sergio Perez returns to his home race off the back of signing a new contract with Cadillac this week.
