Antonelli Is F1’s Youngest Champion as Verstappen Wins

Mexico City Grand Prix

Antonelli seals the title; Verstappen holds off Hamilton

The title was always going to be Antonelli’s to lose. Before the start, he needed only to finish ninth or better. He finished third, and RacingNews365 reports the crown was safe no matter what Hamilton or teammate George Russell did. His age beats Sebastian Vettel’s old record by more than three years.

The race itself was anything but calm. Hamilton started from his first pole for Ferrari, by just 0.009 seconds, and led into Turn 1. Then Charles Leclerc swept around the outside at Turn 4. Both red cars ran off the track. Leclerc came back on in the lead, and Hamilton came back third, behind Verstappen.

Leclerc got a five-second penalty for the move. Hamilton was not impressed. He argued that a time penalty means little when the man ahead is driving in clean air, and he claimed on the radio that drivers had agreed in the briefing to hand back places gained off track. Leclerc kept the spot. Russell, meanwhile, earned a 10-second penalty after spinning Isack Hadjar at Turn 6.

The turning point came on lap 43. Antonelli was leading after the first round of stops, but Mercedes brought him in and he dropped to fourth. RacingNews365 says staying out one more lap would have left him in front, because two laps later Valtteri Bottas suffered a front-left suspension failure at the first corner and hit the barrier hard. The safety car became a red flag. After a 40-minute stoppage, the race restarted from a standing start with Verstappen ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli and Lando Norris.

One more twist followed. Arvid Lindblad crashed at Turn 2 after contact with Oscar Piastri on lap 59. That set up a nine-lap sprint to the flag. Hamilton got past his teammate and threw everything at Verstappen, but the Red Bull would not crack. The final order was Verstappen, Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson (from the pit lane) and Pierre Gasly. Both Aston Martins, Bottas, Lindblad and Ollie Bearman did not finish.

Why it matters to you: F1 now has a new kind of champion. Antonelli is younger than most people buying their first car, and his title closes the book on 2026 with races still left. Instead of a title fight, the last few weekends are now about Ferrari’s tension and Verstappen’s form. For perspective: when Hamilton won his first title in 2008, the new champion was two years old.

NASCAR Cup

Byron owns Martinsville before the finale

William Byron finally got his first win of 2026, and he did it in style. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 362 of 500 laps at Martinsville and beat teammate Chase Elliott by 2.049 seconds. Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top five. Only the season finale at Homestead-Miami remains, next weekend, where the champion will be decided.

SEMA Show

Las Vegas opens its garage doors on Tuesday

The 2026 SEMA Show runs November 3–6 in Las Vegas, and the guest list reads like a car-culture hall of fame. Chip Foose, Ringbrothers, Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Jay Leno and Sung Kang are all expected. Most of the week is trade-only, but the public can buy tickets for Friday, November 6. After Toyota’s lifted family cars on Saturday, expect a flood of restomods, off-roaders and wild one-offs.

EV Sales

BYD’s EVs hit a record as hybrids slide

BYD sold 490,168 electric and plug-in hybrid cars in October, up about 11% on a year ago and its best month of 2026. Pure EVs set a record at 305,743, up 37%, while plug-in hybrids fell 17%. The big story is abroad: overseas sales more than doubled to 170,194. That export push is putting affordable BYDs in front of buyers far beyond China. Still, its 10-month total of 3.62 million is slightly down on last year.

Recall

Honda recalls its tire-sealant fix, again

Honda is recalling 4,804 CR-V and Accord Hybrids from the 2023–2026 model years because the tire-repair sealant bottle can build pressure and blow its cap off. If that sounds familiar, it is: this repeats a June recall of more than 1 million vehicles. The supplier mixed old faulty nozzles in with the replacement parts. Dealers will fit a redesigned nozzle for free. Until then, owners should not use the kit.