An aggressive first-lap battle between Ferrari's drivers at the Mexico City Grand Prix pushed the feud between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to breaking point and handed Max Verstappen the chance to win the race. The seven-time world champion openly questioned his team-mate's mentality, accusing Leclerc of putting personal ambition before the interests of the team. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur branded the episode a lack of respect for the work of everyone at Ferrari. A crisis from within. At Mercedes, George Russell skipped his mandatory post-race media duties, landing the team a €5,000 fine, before the Briton admitted that 2026 had brought him more bad days than good. He nonetheless congratulated Kimi Antonelli on winning the title. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff took aim at entitled drivers and held up the young Italian champion as a model of humility and loyalty.
Antonelli, 20, will race as world champion for the first time at the São Paulo Grand Prix, where he will wear a special helmet marking the 35th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's 1991 victory at Interlagos. Mercedes lead Ferrari by 126 points in the constructors' championship and need to outscore the Italian team by three points in Brazil to seal the title officially.
