What the teams said – Race day in Mexico City

Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli’s race will be remembered as the one that sealed him his maiden World Championship title, the Italian finishing on the rostrum as he took the crown with four rounds to go. The Italian only needed to finish ninth but did much better than that to come home third. His race was relatively straight forward, he kept out of trouble, picked off Leclerc at the restart thanks to his rival having a flat-spot, and then kept the rest clean. The emotion came out after the chequered flag, Antonelli crying into his helmet as what he had achieved sunk in.

As for George Russell, he had a bad start from the front row and dropped back before Turn 1, before making contact with Hadjar. That earned him a 10-second time penalty and sent him back into a fight with the McLaren duo. He wound up coming home sixth, but made sure to congratulate his team mate and championship rival at the end of the race.

Kimi Antonelli, 3rd

"It’s difficult to put into words what I’m feeling right now. I’m still trying to process it all, but to be able to say that I am world champion is just incredible. This is a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. We’ve had an amazing season and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. From very early on, we had a strong car and were able to be consistent, and that gave us the belief that we could fight for the championship.

"I wouldn’t be here without this team and without all the people and partners who have supported me throughout my career. Mercedes has believed in me for so many years and given me this incredible opportunity, so to repay that trust by winning the World Championship together means so much. I also have to thank my family, my friends and everyone who has been there for me along the way.

"I definitely felt more tension coming into this weekend, knowing what was possible, so to get it done today is a huge relief and an amazing feeling. Finishing on the podium made it even more special and sharing it with Max (Verstappen) and Lewis (Hamilton) was really cool. We still have races to go and we want to finish the season strongly by clinching the Constructors’ Championship, but tonight we’re definitely going to enjoy this moment together as a team."

George Russell, 6th

"Firstly, congratulations to Kimi on a thoroughly deserved championship. He has done a fantastic job this season and can be incredibly proud of what he has achieved.

"Unfortunately, it was a very disappointing race on my side. I made a good start and was in a strong position, but then we suffered an issue which caused me to not have full deployment down the straight. That cost us a lot of positions and ultimately took us out of contention for a strong result. It’s frustrating to have the race compromised by something outside of my control but that is racing.

"We will reset after this weekend and look to come back stronger in Brazil. We still have a Constructors’ Championship to win and my full focus is on helping the team achieve that."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"What Kimi has achieved today is extraordinary. To become Formula 1 World Champion at 20 years old, and to do it in only his second season, is a remarkable achievement. But what makes me most proud is not the record or the statistics, it is the journey he has been on to get here.

"There were difficult moments last year. There were people who questioned whether he was ready for Formula One and whether he deserved to be in a Mercedes. We always believed in his talent and knew those difficult experiences would make him stronger. To see the way he has responded this season, the confidence he has built and the level at which he is now performing is incredibly satisfying. We saw that maturity again today. He managed the first stint extremely well, stayed patient when the red flag took away the advantage he had created, and then made the move when he needed to after the restart. To deliver that performance with a World Championship on the line says a lot about him.

"We also have to acknowledge George. Today was another race where we didn’t give him the platform to show what he could do. The deployment issue at the start immediately compromised his afternoon and, although the incident and penalty made his race more difficult, he kept fighting and brought the car home in P6. There have been too many occasions this season where we have let George down, and he has deserved more from us. His contribution to what we have achieved this year has been immense, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that today.

"This is a tremendous moment for everyone at Brackley and Brixworth, and all those associated with the team. Championships are never won by one individual. There are so many people who have contributed, both here at the track and back at the factories, and they should all feel incredibly proud tonight. Thank you to Mercedes-AMG for their continued support, our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and so many more. We all believed in Kimi from a very young age and today he is a Formula One World Champion. That is a very special moment for all of us."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Congratulations to Kimi on his first World Championship. It was quite an eventful race, but he did a really good job managing the Soft tyre in the first stint and was able to run it beyond 40 laps. That gave us some useful options for the end of the race, although the red flag effectively reset things and removed the tyre advantage we had created. He restarted P4 but made a very good move on Leclerc to get back into the podium positions and drove a very controlled race from there to take P3 and the title.

"He has driven superbly across the season and the way he handled the race today, with everything that was at stake, was another demonstration of the progress he has made. It’s an incredible achievement for him and he should be rightly proud of himself.

"George had a difficult afternoon through no fault of his own. The deployment issue on the run to Turn 1 cost him several positions and put him on the back foot from the very start. From there, he was having to recover in traffic and the contact with Hadjar and subsequent penalty made that task harder. He kept his head down, showed good pace and fought back to P6. It’s frustrating because we didn’t give him the start to the race that he needed and that is on us as team.

"We have plenty to focus on as we head to Brazil We want to add the Constructors’ Championship to the Drivers’ title, and we know we still must deliver the performances to do that. We’ll enjoy today, then turn our attention very quickly to the next race."

Red Bull

Max Verstappen was the only front runner to start on the mediums, but he got his Red Bull off the line brilliantly to run third. He picked off Hamilton after his rival ran wide to settle in behind Leclerc in the first stint. Pitting at the same time as the leader, Verstappen came out in front after Leclerc had to serve a time penalty and then comfortably held the Ferrari man at bay. He had to work hard at the restart to keep a charging Hamilton behind, but from there looked assured of the win.

As for Isack Hadjar, his race was effectively over almost as soon as it started. He was tagged into a spin on the first lap by Russell, which dropped him to last. He pitted early under a VSC for mediums to see if he could go to the end, but wound up needing a second stop. But thanks to various post-race penalties, he climbed into the points to at least have some consolation from a difficult weekend.

Max Verstappen, 1st

"It was a crazy race today and the first start and lap were crucial to the result. The Team also made all the right calls: on both the strategy and when we went to box and take the lead from Charles on the penalty. Even after the red flag, we had a really good start and, after that, it was just keeping the lead until the end. Ferrari were fast but we executed everything well today, so it was amazing to get the win. Well done to Kimi, he has done such an incredible job this year, made barely any mistakes and he really deserves to win the Championship. To achieve it at such a young age is amazing and it was a very special podium: I think it had to be that way with the three of us standing there with him. It was a really nice moment."

Isack Hadjar, 9th

“Today was a real shame. We knew there was pace in the car coming into the race, so we just wanted to focus on getting a good start, and that’s exactly what we did. I managed to get up to fifth and felt really strong through the first few corners. Unfortunately, George stuck a wheel up the inside at T6, and I was sent straight to the back. From then on, it was going to be so difficult to get back into the points. We pitted onto the Medium, and in the free air, I could feel the pace, but overtaking on this track is very tricky. We got unlucky with the Safety Car timing, and then, on the second restart, I went backwards again as I got closed onto the grass. It’s not been an ideal weekend, but the car was very fast and our starts were good, so there are definitely positives heading into Brazil. Lastly, a big congrats to Kimi. He's been so impressive and it was such a mature drive from him today to win the Championship!”

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“First of all, huge congratulations to Kimi on winning the World Championship today. He has performed at an incredibly high level and should be extremely proud of what he and his team have accomplished.

For us, this is our third win in the last four races with Max, and a testament to the talent, hard work and spirit we have in the Team. Everyone at the track and back in Milton Keynes did an outstanding job this weekend to turn the car around in difficult conditions and deliver this very special win.

Max drove a pure masterclass and extracted every millisecond from the car and every millimetre from the track to deal with all the circumstances thrown at him today. It was far from straightforward, with the Safety Car, the red flag and the standing starts, but Max delivered in his usual fashion, fought an extremely tight race until the end and won it on merit.

It was a tough race for Isack after he was hit by George and had to fight his way through from the back of the field. Every time he made progress, the circumstances of the race worked against him, but he kept on going, made a lot of overtakes and ultimately missed out on the points by less than a second.

I’m very proud of how the Team has dealt with all the unique challenges of Mexico, both on the chassis side and the PU side, and of the extraordinary execution level once again. We have a lot we still want to improve in the final races, and we will also take the learnings from this very special win.”

Ferrari

Ferrari might wonder how another race has slipped by where they appeared to have the fastest car yet did not deliver the win. Lewis Hamilton made a great start form pole, Charles Leclerc surged into second but then those two went wheel-to-wheel and both skated wide. Leclerc cut across the apex and came out in the lead, Hamilton tried to rejoin before the corner and lost out to Verstappen as a result.

The stewards gave Leclerc a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage, and that cost him the lead in the pit stops despite the Monegasque building more than five seconds on the Red Bull. That left Leclerc second and a frustrated Hamilton third, but at the red flag restart the Monegasque driver locked up and flat-spotted his tyres – but not before Hamilton had taken the position.

Hamilton then bumped wheels with Verstappen but to no avail, settling for second. Leclerc dropped a further position, but put on a defensive masterclass to keep Norris at bay.

Lewis Hamilton, 2nd

"First of all, congratulations to Kimi (Antonelli) on winning the World Championship. It’s a huge achievement that he deserves and I’m happy for him and his team.

"For us today, it was good to see the pace we had. Everyone has worked hard to improve the car, and we’re seeing that progress on track, which is encouraging. We’ve come away with good points, but I wanted more from the race and felt we had the pace for a win. We’ll look back at it together, understand whats needs to be done better and take that into the next weekend."

Charles Leclerc, 4th

"I am very happy for Kimi (Antonelli). He is so young and has achieved something so incredible, it’s a well-deserved title.

"As for our race, it was not the result we hoped for today. I took a deserved penalty during my pit stop, and we will discuss as a team to avoid such situations in the future. Overall, our pace was really strong on the first stint.

"After the restart, on the dirty side of the track, I struggled, and then had a flat spot which made it really tough to fight off Lando (Norris) for the rest of the race. We will learn from it and come back stronger as a team."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Congratulations to Kimi (Antonelli) and to Mercedes. Kimi has done a fantastic job from the first race of the season, so it’s a well-deserved championship title.

"From our side, today’s result is very difficult to digest because we have done so much work and made a huge step forward in terms of pure performance over the last couple of rounds. Once again today, as a team, we scored more points than our closest competitors.

"But it was a difficult race and, looking at what happened today on the first lap, I always expect everyone to show respect for the brand, the team, our partners and, above all, the two thousand people working for us back home. They put an incredible amount of effort into what we do, working day and night at the factory to improve the car and bring upgrades to the track. That’s why missing out on a win in this way is difficult to accept.

"We were running one-two on track here in Mexico and, when you are in that position, you have to make the most of the opportunity. We will discuss what happened within the team and make sure everything is clear going forward. Now we head to São Paulo, where we will try to win, and in this respect it is good that the next race comes so soon."

McLaren

Lando Norris lost places off the line, Oscar Piastri gained them but both shook out in the top 10. From there, Norris picked off the midfield runners to run right behind Russell’s gearbox in the first stint, only getting past the Mercedes courtesy of Russell’s penalty. Having been frustrated behind the Mercedes in the first stint, he had the same problem in the second, this time stuck behind Leclerc and unable to find a way past.

As for Piastri, his great start made his race – but he lost out to Lindblad at the restart, and then collided with his rival when attempting an overtake. The Australian was able to make it to the flag with a damaged car, but the stewards did look at the moment and handed him a post-race time penalty, which dropped him from seventh down to 13th.

Lando Norris, 5th

"The race pace today was exceptionally strong and capable of at least fighting for a podium, if not for the win, which is a huge positive for the entire team. However, our Sunday was compromised by our Qualifying position and the straight-line speed limiter, which made overtaking virtually impossible regardless of how closely we followed. We know the areas we must address, and we’re looking forward to introducing upgrades in Brazil as we continue our fight for third in the Constructors' Championship.

"I also want to extend my congratulations to Kimi on securing the Drivers’ World Championship. To achieve what he has done at just 20 years old and in only his second season in Formula 1 is outstanding. He thoroughly deserves every bit of this success, and while I look forward to putting up a much stronger fight to reclaim the title next season, I hope he takes the time to celebrate a truly historic achievement."

Oscar Piastri, 13th

“Congratulations to Kimi on his Championship win; he has driven a solid season from the start, and to achieve what he has at such a young age is remarkable. Looking at our performance today, it was a tough and tricky afternoon in Mexico City. We showed promising pace to climb positions throughout the race following a disappointing Qualifying session yesterday, which had put us on the back foot.

“Despite the damage picked up towards the end, we carried on through the final laps and still had enough pace to hang on, even if the last stint wasn’t easy. It’s disappointing not to come away with the points for P7 following the racing incident ruling against us, but we’ll use that as motivation to fight at the front in Brazil next week. We’ll review the whole weekend as a team and focus on looking to finish this triple-header with a strong result."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

"First of all, on behalf of the whole team, I would like to congratulate Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes on a truly historic achievement. Becoming the youngest World Champion in the history of Formula 1 in just his second season is something extraordinary. For Italian motor racing, Kimi now joins an exclusive group alongside legendary names such as Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Farina, who have inspired entire generations of Italian fans. His incredible consistency, his reliability and the remarkable progress he has made over the past year have made this triumph truly exceptional.

“As for our performance today, the race confirmed that we had the potential to finish on the podium. Unfortunately, we paid the price for both our drivers’ starting grid positions and the limitations imposed by the technical regulations, which make overtaking practically impossible on a track like this: with all the time Lando spent in the slipstream – first behind Russell and then behind Leclerc – I think he could now draw the rear of their cars with his eyes closed! Furthermore, the harsh penalty Oscar received for the contact with Lindblad cost us further valuable points: a real shame because Oscar had staged a good comeback.

“In our battle with Red Bull for third place today, we could only limit the damage after a Qualifying session that had put us in a difficult position. We have 16 points to make up, but I believe that with the pace we showed today and the upgrades coming to Brazil next week, we have every chance of achieving at least that target. To do so, however, we’ll have to be perfect as a team, in every respect.”

Alpine

Franco Colapinto made a brilliant start and climbed right into the thick of the top 10. That made his race, and he initially appeared to have brought home some valuable points for the team. Pierre Gasly had a harder time of it after a power issue dropped him back off the line. He pitted early, undercut some of his rivals and slowly made his way back to the top 10. At the restart the two Alpine drivers nearly clashed, Gasly winding up on the grass. That sent him into the clutches of Lawson, with those two then making contact. Luckily Gasly was able to continue and just about finish in the points.

But after the race both drivers were investigated for failing to slow under yellow flags. Gasly was handed a stop and go penalty, which dropped him from ninth to 17th while Colapinto picked up a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him from seventh to 15th.

Pierre Gasly, 17th

“In the end, it's a disappointing afternoon and a race where we have not capitalised on some opportunities in front of us. I am sorry to the team for the yellow flag infringement, it is my error which has obviously stopped us from scoring points. In terms of the race, I had a really good launch off the line but then lost power on the straight, which cost us a number of places and left us to play catch-up in the midfield. We were back in the mix after the red flag, fighting for the points, but again we had some power issues at the restarts and that put us back too much meaning we could not really compete further up the field. There are a few things for us to look at on our side as I felt we could have been much higher up had we not had some of the issues. It's not been a great day for me, a lot to reflect on, but we look ahead as a team to São Paulo next weekend to round off the triple header. Finally, congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] on winning the world championship. I really like Kimi, he's a great person, an amazing driver and he has been solid all year, so I am very pleased for him.”

Franco Colapinto, 15th

“It's a very bitter end after what had been a nice feeling to be back in the points after a run of races where I have not finished. I am sorry to everyone at the team for what happened under the yellow flag. While it is difficult to really understand, it is my mistake in the car. I feel like it was generally a very well-executed race from the team in difficult circumstances but unfortunately, due to a yellow flag infringement, we were given a time penalty and lost the points we deserved to score. There were multiple restarts and safety cars, but I think as a team we dealt with it well and made the right calls. That makes me feel proud, as the team did a big effort these past few races to change around some of our recent misfortune so I'm happy with our performance today, even if we lost our reward. Also, a big congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli]. He really deserves it after the season he has had, and what better way to celebrate than with Max [Verstappen] and Lewis [Hamilton] on the podium. He now joins that list of great champions, and I'm happy for him.”

Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor

“I'm happy with the performance and the pace we showed in the race compared to Qualifying, but I'm less happy with the final result. After the penalties applied post-race, we leave Mexico City without any points, which is a pity after having both cars finish in the points. Franco drove a very good and consistent race, which he needed after a run of bad luck in recent races. Pierre also drove well and had some power issues off the line, so did a good job to recover. Therefore, it's frustrating not to come away with anything from this race.

"Also, congratulations to Kimi Antonelli on winning his first World Drivers' Championship. He has had an impressive season, especially at such a young age, performing well and dealing with the pressure. He has represented Italy fantastically and I'm personally very happy for him to achieve this milestone so early in his Formula One career. Bravo Kimi!”

Racing Bulls

It was an eventful day for both Racing Bulls drivers, with Liam Lawson scoring points from the pit lane as Arvid Lindblad failed to finish. For much of the race it looked like the rookie would be the one to score, running near the front of the midfield and always in the points. He was seventh and tussling with Piastri late on when the duo made contact, which bounced his car into the air and off into the barriers.

The Kiwi racer started from the pit lane after taking a new PU overnight, and slowly made his way back through the field. He benefitted from a few retirements but still pulled off some overtakes, including on Gasly late on to complete his race of damage limitation, and then picked up an extra place after the flag courtesy of Piastri’s penalty, and another when Colapinto ahead was also penalised.

Liam Lawson, 7th

“It was a tough race today, but to come away with points having started from the pit lane is a positive to take away. I definitely think we had the potential to gain more positions given the speed of the car, however it puts us in a strong position as we head to Brazil next week. It’s obviously a big shame that Arvid wasn’t able to finish the race, but I’m glad he’s okay. As a team we’ll continue to focus on our fight for P5 in the Championship.”

Arvid Lindblad, DNF

“Obviously today wasn’t the result we wanted. We were in a good position to score some points, so it’s a shame about the collision on track with Oscar. However, the pace has been there all weekend, which is a big positive to take away. After the past few races and the crashes in Madrid and Baku, I lost a bit of rhythm and confidence and wasn’t able to push to my full potential, but I’m finally starting to feel back to normal. I’m looking forward to closing out this triple-header next week in Brazil, it’ll be another exciting weekend.”

Alan Permane, Team Principal

“A long and tough day today. Arvid drove an absolutely superb race and has had a fantastic weekend overall. He nailed the start and continued to chip away gaining two, three, even four tenths a lap, all while managing his tyres. The crash with Piastri was a unfortunate end to an exemplary weekend and it’s a small consolation that Oscar received a penalty.

“Liam also had a challenging race. The penalty from qualifying put us on the back foot, but we took the opportunity to fit a fresh power unit, which he would have needed to take at some point this season anyway. With Alpine’s penalty, Liam ultimately finished seventh, having started from the pitlane, which is an incredible effort and a great result for the team.

“We leave today with some valuable points and plenty of positives to take forward as we head to Brazil next week to close out the triple header.”

Audi

Audi initially seemed to miss out after looking in the fight for points for much of the afternoon. Nico Hulkenberg was the man in the top 10, but he managed to hit the back of Bearman’s Haas at the red flag restart which forced his rival into retirement. The stewards gave the German a 10-second time penalty for that crash, dropping him down the order. As for Gabriel Bortoleto, he was a few places further behind his team mate for much of the day, but the Brazilian wound up coming home P11 after Lindblad’s late retirement. But after a difficult weekend with plenty of reliability woes, it ended on a good note, Bortoleto promoted into the top 10 after a raft of post-race penalties for his rivals.

Nico Hulkenberg, 14th

"It was a tough afternoon for us. We struggled with temperatures throughout, which made it difficult to really get into a position to fight. At the second start, I got a bit too close to Ollie into Turn 4, lost some front downforce and couldn't stop the car in time. Obviously not intentional, apologies to him and the Haas team.

"All in all, not the smoothest weekend for us as a team. A few things to look into and understand, but with Brazil just around the corner, we'll take what we can from this one, reset and go again.

"Finally, a massive congratulations to Kimi [Antonelli] on becoming world champion. A huge achievement and very well deserved."

Gabriel Bortoleto, 8th

“I think all in all, we had a decent race, which was encouraging, especially considering we had almost no data after the issues we had throughout the practice sessions. That also meant we were going in a bit blind when it came to tyre management and setup, so overall, P11 is an okay result, even if it is obviously a little frustrating to finish just outside the points.

“Now we head to my home race in Brazil, which I am really looking forward to. Interlagos should suit our car, and if we can put together a clean weekend, unlike the one we had here, hopefully we can fight for some good points in front of my home crowd. That would be a positive way to wrap up these three weeks on the road.”

Allan McNish, Racing Director

“First of all, congratulations to Kimi Antonelli for securing the world championship. It's a remarkable performance at such young age. For us, it has been a challenging weekend overall here in Mexico City. The altitude places particular demands on the cars, and the whole team worked extremely hard to make sure we had both cars running reliably and able to fight for points at the end. In reality, it was a race of two halves. Nico was in contention throughout, but unfortunately the red flag came at the wrong moment for him to make his strategy work. On the other side, it brought Gabi back into the fight, and he made the most of that opportunity. Although he ultimately finished just outside the points in P11, it was a very strong performance, particularly given the limited running he had in free practice sessions. There is plenty to learn from this weekend, but also credit due to everyone for pulling together through some difficult circumstances. Now we head straight to Brazil, Gabi's home race."

Haas

Ollie Bearman had a great start to gain some places, and then was the second to last driver to pit at the end of the first stint. He was in the thick of the midfield fight at the restart, but after picking off Hulkenberg, he was hit from behind by the German which damaged the rear of his car too badly to continue. Ryo Hirakawa kept out of trouble on his race debut, which is all the team could ask. He gained some places, pulled off some overtakes and finished a very impressive 12th in the end. But better news was to come for the American outfit, as post-race penalties for both Alpine cars lifted the Japanese rookie into the top 10 on debut.

Oliver Bearman, DNF

“I just got smashed off. I was turning into Turn 4, and the next thing I knew, I was looking at everyone else coming past me, facing the wrong way. It was a good race to be honest, I had great pace, and we were in the fight for points, and I was in the points when I was taken out. It happens, it just sucks.”

Ryo Hirakawa, 10th

“There were a lot of things to do today, especially around the start, and lap one – It was not easy, especially here going into Turn 1. You’re thinking about braking points and you’ve got cars all around you, so I think I took too much margin because my focus was to finish the race as I wanted to learn. After that, I was trying to learn from what others were doing, and maybe the first stint was tough, but I learned a lot. After the Safety Car, with the soft compound, I had more confidence and, after the last one, I had much more confidence and passed two cars, so I’m happy to finish like that. I need to digest this moment, I’m really happy as today was my dream, so I just want to enjoy this moment.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“The result is obviously disappointing, but overall, as a team performance, it was a decent day. Race pace was really good with Ollie, we were quicker than Audi, and he made some really nice overtakes. With that Turn 4 incident, Ollie did everything correctly. He put the car in the right place, and there’s nothing you can do when someone drives into you, so it’s really unfortunate. I think we had a chance to score points for sure, but you have to take it on the chin – you can only control what you can control.

“What can I say about Ryō’s first Formula 1 race? The first race start was good, and as we expected, throughout the race, he was improving and he stayed calm. The second race start wasn’t as good, but how he came back to overtake both of the Williams' was spot on, so he should be really proud of his performance. I just want to say thanks to all the crews here, they’ve had a lot to work on this weekend and we never missed a session, even with some big changes. Now, we move on to Brazil.”

Williams

Williams lacked pace throughout the weekend, and that continued in the Grand Prix. Alex Albon wound up finishing ahead of his team mate, as Carlos Sainz had a slightly messy afternoon that began with speeding in the pit lane before the Grand Prix had even begun. He was noted for a false start too, but fortunately there was no case to answer.

Both drivers inherited some places after the race, but still finished outside the points.

Carlos Sainz, 12th

“First of all, well done to Kimi. He has done a great job this season so congratulations to him and his team.

“Regarding our Sunday, I had a good first half of the race switching to a one-stop strategy fairly early on. It was working well and we were on the way to maximising what we could today, but the restart was chaos and I lost some ground. We tried to fight back on the last stint but the balance went away from us and overheating worsened the situation. Overall, it’s been another tough weekend, but we’ll take as many learnings as we can from this week into Brazil and keep pushing for the races ahead.”

Alex Albon, 11th

“It was a solid race for us. We went for the two-stop, which may have been the wrong call due to the lack of tyre deg, but the red flag brought us all back into it. I had a really good restart and gained quite a few positions, which I tried to hold onto, but eventually Isack and Ryō overtook me. The pace was decent, all things considered, and the car felt pretty good, so overall I’m quite happy with the weekend.

“Lastly, congratulations to Kimi. He’s driven really impressively for someone so young, and he’s been very relaxed throughout it all. To be so young and to be able to achieve what he's achieved, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s clearly made a big step from last year and he’s a new force to be reckoned with.”

James Vowles, Team Principal

“It’s a shame to be lacking pace, which ultimately meant we couldn't fight for points today, but it was really great work by HPP and the team to make sure that the high altitudes didn't impact us, and we were able to freely race from start to finish, which is probably one of the most difficult races for that. It was harder to overtake than anticipated here, so, it was near enough, just about being in trains of cars.

“Alex had an excellent restart following the red flag, however unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to be fighting in the top 10. We'll review all the learnings we have and come back ready to tackle the last race of the triple header in Brazil.

“A heartfelt congratulations to Kimi and Mercedes. He deserved this championship and won it on merit. He did an outstanding job from start to finish. A deserving champion, and I'm sure the first of many.”

Cadillac

Valtteri Bottas suffered a scary-looking crash midway through the race, with an apparent front suspension failure sending him careering into the barriers at high speed. He was able to climb out and walk away unaided, and was later released from the Medical Centre. Sergio Perez did finish his home race, and his 300th Grand Prix. But it was not the party the Mexican might have hoped for after he picked up a time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Sergio Perez, 16th

“It was an enjoyable but chaotic race, especially being able to fight with the cars around us and make some good progress during the first stint. We managed to get up to P13 and I was racing hard, defending my position well. Unfortunately, a slow pit stop due to an issue with one of the wheel guns cost us valuable track position and ultimately compromised our race. We fought back in the second stint, but further incidents and a time penalty caused by a sensor issue, made things difficult.

”It was great to be able to race competitively and fight with some of the faster cars. More than anything, it’s been a real pleasure to be here in Mexico this week, racing in front of these incredible fans and experiencing the support they give us. A big thank you to everyone who came out today and supported us throughout the race. It really means a lot. I’m impressed with what we’ve been able to achieve with this car, and hopefully we can carry this momentum into next season.”

Valtteri Bottas, DNF

“It was a big impact going into Turn 1, but thankfully I’m okay. Thank you to the medical team for checking me over and to everyone who helped at the scene. It is a testament to the hard work the FIA has put in over many years to make our sport as safe as possible.

“We need to work through everything thoroughly as a team to understand exactly what happened, and make sure we learn from it. We had a strong opening lap and made up some places, so it’s disappointing not to finish another race. We’ll regroup now and focus on continuing to make progress in São Paulo next week.”

Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal

“A very eventful day in Mexico City. Firstly, everyone is relieved that Valtteri is okay after the incident on Lap 46. We will fully investigate the cause of this failure and ensure such accidents do not happen again.

“Taking the positives, it was our most competitive weekend in terms of relative pace and very encouraging to see both drivers fighting in the pack. They both had great starts, especially Checo, who had phenomenal first laps after both starts and was running up into P13 at one stage. We had some equipment issues in both pit stops which cost both drivers time and positions on track.

“Congratulations to Checo on his historic 300th Grand Prix start - it has been such a memorable week for him and the whole team at his home race. I would also like to recognize Kimi’s [Antonelli] remarkable season - well done to him and his team.

“Despite the limitations with our current package, we always aim for solid operational execution, and we have come up short today. Lots to analyse on and act on before another important race in Brazil next weekend.”

Aston Martin

Aston Martin had what can only be described as a difficult time in Mexico City. Both drivers retired almost simultaneously, Fernando Alonso pulling into the pits to park up while Lance Stroll stopped his car in a run off area. The team revealed that PU issues were the cause for both retirements, ending what has been a difficult weekend where reliability has been a factor throughout.

Fernando Alonso, DNF

“A frustrating end to the day. We knew it was going to be tough, but having to retire the car so early is disappointing. The same MGUK issue that stopped us in Qualifying reoccurred and forced us to stop. Days like today bring hard lessons, but we are learning. I'm doing my best to stay motivated and will continue to give everything I can as we look ahead to Brazil next week.”

Lance Stroll, DNF

“We had an issue and had to stop the car on Lap 6 to avoid damaging the battery. A tough day for the team, who have worked long hours this whole weekend. Still, there’s plenty to think about with the car and only a few days before we head to Brazil. We’ll see what we’ve got there.”

Adrian Newey, Team Principal

“It has been a disappointing day, especially as Fernando showed very good pace all weekend.”

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

“Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli on winning the World Championship. It is a thoroughly deserved success, built on the consistency he has demonstrated throughout the season and sealed today with another outstanding performance, culminating in a podium finish in a race packed with drama alongside two World Champions.

"Without the neutralisations, a one-stop strategy would have been the most competitive option for this Grand Prix. Both the Soft and Medium compounds proved capable of covering around half the race distance, making it possible to complete the event with a single tyre change. The C5 once again confirmed itself as the benchmark compound in terms of grip and driver confidence, although the performance gap to the C4 was very small, with both compounds showing similar levels of degradation. It was therefore no surprise that every driver chose the Soft for the final stint after the Safety Car, despite also having the Hard compound available.

"From a technical perspective, tyre behaviour was very positive. We recorded no significant graining, and degradation remained within expected levels, proving lower than what had been observed on Friday.

"A lock-up by Leclerc at the restart following the red flag also provided further evidence of the robustness of Formula 1 tyres. The tyre sliding across the asphalt caused particularly severe localised wear on the front-left tyre, bringing it very close to the internal structural layers.

"This is certainly not a routine occurrence, but it is one that is consistently taken into account throughout Pirelli’s development and validation processes, including through rigorous indoor testing programmes. The ultimate objective is to ensure that the tyre maintains an appropriate level of integrity even under extreme conditions, allowing drivers to continue racing in complete safety.

"The performance of the Soft compound was particularly interesting, as demonstrated by Antonelli’s lengthy stint. He completed 43 laps while maintaining very limited degradation and a competitive pace right through to the closing stages of the race.

"The C3, meanwhile, was not considered by the teams because, under race conditions, it did not offer any performance advantage over the two softer compounds. Overall, the data collected confirmed a very clear picture, fully consistent with the simulations carried out before the event, both in terms of degradation and the competitiveness of the various strategic options.”