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F1, NASCAR, and MotoGP Race Wrap-ups
3 days ago
3 min read
Vertstappen Wins Mexican GP, Antonelli Becomes Youngest F1 Champion in History; Byron Dominates Martinsville, Marquez Extends MotoGP Points Lead in Malaysia
Formula 1
Formula 1
Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won from fifth on the grid at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, surviving a red flag and late safety-car restart to defeat seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) by 0.799 seconds. But the story was Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) finishing third and becoming Formula 1’s youngest World Champion at age 20. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) placed fourth after receiving a time penalty for cutting the track while battling on Lap 1 of the race.
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished 13th after a post-race 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), who retired. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) crashed heavily when a suspension piece broke, causing the mid-race red flag, while both Aston Martins retired early. Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) finished 10th and earned a point in his F1 debut following a midweekend call-up after the team sat Esteban Ocon, who will not be returning to Haas in 2027.
Note: This season, Antonelli also became the youngest polesitter (beating 21-years-old Sebastien Vettel), youngest to achieve an F1 Grand Slam (pole position, fastest lap, led every lap, and won the race), most wins by a teenager (six GP wins, eclipsing Max Verstappen’s one when he was 18), most wins in the season he earned his first victory (accumulating nine victories, breaking the record of four shared by Hamilton and Lando Norris), first driver born in the 21st century to win the championship, and the first Italian to win the championship since 1953 (Alberto Ascari).
Also of note: American Colton Herta was reported to have earned the last super license point he needed by participating in FP1 (the first free practice session) at Mexico, but there was an error. He remains one point shy of being eligible to race in F1 with four more Grands Prix — and four more FP1 sessions) on the 2026 schedule.
Next: Grand Prix of Brazil at Sao Paulo, Nov 6-8
NASCAR
William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) swept both stages, led a career-high 362 of 500 laps and ended a 35-race winless streak in dominating Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Byron defeated teammate Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Chevrolet) by 2.049 seconds, with Ty Gibbs (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) third.
Championship leader Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet) went a lap down after stretching his tires through Stage 1 but recovered to ninth. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and Christopher Bell (No. 20 JGR Toyota) both spun after three-wide contact initiated by Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford); Hamlin recovered to sixth and Bell to 10th. Bell also served a pit-speeding penalty. Larson takes a 67-point advantage over Bell into Sunday’s Homestead finale, with Hamlin 70 behind.
Carson Hocevar (No. 77 Spire Chevrolet), was eliminated from championship contention with a 21st place finish after spinning and saying his car was undriveable, and then brake-checking fellow chase driver Austin Cindric (No. 2 Team Penske Ford) three times, with the final offense forcing Cindric out of the race with a 36th place result — one spot behind teammate Ryan Blaney, who was also eliminated from the title hunt.
Next: NASCAR Cup Championship Race at Homestead, Nov 7-8
Official NASCAR Recap
MotoGP
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