Antonelli seals F1 title in Mexico as Alonso and Stroll retire early

Antonelli clinches the title in Mexico City

Kimi Antonelli clinched the Formula 1 world championship at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, 1 November, finishing third behind Max Verstappen, who won the race. According to El Confidencial, it is Italy's first world title since 1953, and Antonelli was lifted onto the shoulders of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after the race. Charles Leclerc had started from third and, while fighting Hamilton for position at the first corner, ran across the grass, which earned him a five-second penalty. Hamilton protested that the stewards were handing Leclerc the victory. Verstappen took the lead while the two Ferrari drivers were fighting, and an early crash by Bottas, which caused no consequences for the driver, forced a restart.

Ferrari's lost win

Fred Vasseur said Ferrari had been first and second at turn four and that he never expected to lose the race from that position. He described the frustration as enormous, though not the most important thing, because it was shared by the 2,000 people working on the project. Vasseur also criticised both of his drivers in remarks made in front of Italian supporters, calling their conduct a lack of respect towards the brand. The penalty handed to Leclerc is the decisive moment in which Ferrari lost a race it had been leading.

Two Aston Martins out on Honda power

Aston Martin's weekend began badly on Saturday, when a fault in the Honda power unit stopped Fernando Alonso during Q1. SAPO reports that he completed only one fast lap and finished 18th in qualifying. On Sunday both Aston Martins were out early, with Alonso retiring after lap six according to La Razón, while SAPO places the retirement on lap five. Lance Stroll could not reach the pits and stopped on track, which brought a brief virtual safety car. La Razón counts this as Alonso's seventh retirement of the season, after Australia, China, Canada, Barcelona-Catalunya, Italy and Azerbaijan. Pedro de la Rosa, the Aston Martin ambassador, warned that cooling margins were tight and that cars starting far back would run in dirty air. Alonso blamed the engine after the race:

“The car is very good, the problem is that we can only do a few laps because of the engine.”

Laps completed by Alonso6

Scheduled race laps71

Laps completed by Alonso

6 laps

Scheduled race laps

71 laps

Data from the article text

Sainz and the rest of the field

Carlos Sainz finished 15th for Williams in his twelfth season in Formula 1. He said his one-stop strategy was working well until the restart turned into chaos, after which he lost ground. In the final stint, the car lost its balance and overheating made the situation worse. Sainz was the first to congratulate Antonelli, saying:

“First of all, I want to congratulate Kimi, because he has done a great job this season.”

What comes next

Alonso said the team would try again and that he would keep giving his best in every session. De la Rosa's assessment left little room for recovery in the remaining races. The next round is the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, a track LaSexta describes as high-speed.