Mexico City Shakes Up F1: Antonelli Crowned, Ferrari Slips Again

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez delivered a weekend nobody saw coming. Kimi Antonelli, barely months past his 20th birthday, locked up his first World Drivers’ Championship in Mexico City — making him the youngest title winner the sport has ever seen. Not bad for a track many expected to produce a processional afternoon.

Ferrari, meanwhile, found another way to lose. The race looked theirs to take, and once more they let it slip to Red Bull. That pattern has become painfully familiar this season, and Mexico added another chapter.

Why the Altitude Rewrites the Rulebook

Sitting 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level, this circuit asks questions no other venue on the calendar does. Downforce settings that would be monstrous at Monaco produce Monza-like numbers here. Sitting in another car’s wake gives you almost nothing in the way of a slipstream.

Cooling becomes a genuine headache, too. Thin air moving across the radiators means teams fight overheating all weekend, and with less oxygen to burn, engine output drops noticeably. The surface itself is flat and low on grip, and the lap leans heavily on medium- and slow-speed corners — including the stadium section built back in the 1990s — before that long drag from the grid into turn one.

Track Facts: 2,240 m altitude · reduced downforce · compromised cooling · low-grip surface · long run to Turn 1

Chaos Further Down the Order

The headline acts weren’t the only storyline. Haas sprung a last-minute driver swap, both Aston Martins retired in what looked like coordinated fashion, and Cadillac Racing had wheels literally coming off. Yes, really.

• Haas: late driver change before the lights went out
• Aston Martin: both cars out, retirements synchronized
• Cadillac Racing: wheel issues that ended the day early
• Ferrari: victory within reach, handed to Red Bull instead

Perhaps the thin air does something to decision-making. That’s the running joke, anyway.

With a new champion crowned and a constructor still searching for answers, the season’s final stretch just got a lot more interesting. Antonelli’s title is the story of the year — but Ferrari’s recurring habit of letting wins escape is becoming its own narrative.

And to think some of us expected a quiet weekend.