Track Interviews - Conducted by Nico Rosberg
Kimi, you did it! You are the 2026 Formula 1 World Champion and the youngest ever in the history of Formula 1. Take us through your feelings.
Kimi Antonelli: Yeah, we did it! We did it! And, you know, without them, I wouldn't be here, without Mercedes, without my family. So I'm very grateful for this moment. It's one that will live forever, and I just am speechless. I'm trying to process what has just happened.
You're sharing the podium today with the other two drivers who are two of the greatest of all time. How does that make it even more special to have beaten them this season?
KA: Of course, of course. And, you know, it's been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible. And, yeah, looking forward to some more battles in the future.
Now, can you say, did you ever feel a little bit of nerves? Because from the outside, it looked so solid all year long.
KA: Yeah, I mean, this weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but, yeah, I'm just so happy and happy that we got it done, and now we can enjoy the rest of the season.
Well, enjoy this moment. You deserve it so much.
KA: Thank you so much.
Max, what a fantastic weekend. After that qualifying setback, you were like, "This is going to be difficult," but you absolutely nailed it today.
Max Verstappen: Yeah, it was very hectic out there today, I think. But, yeah, the first start already, I think, made the race for me. I just had a very good first lap, let's say like that. And after that, yeah, we had a bit of a different strategy. I do think we lacked a little bit of pace, but we just hung in there, made the right calls at the right time. And then, of course, you know, the penalty for Charles put us into the lead, and then you could see they were always staying with me. So, yeah, it was tough. I was sweating at the end to try and, of course, keep Lewis behind.
A big key to your win today was that Turn 1, and also defending against Lewis. That was proper, awesome, on the limit.
MV: No, I mean, as you know, it's such a long run to Turn 1, and then to pick your braking point there, with a big bump in the middle of the track as well, I had to be quite careful. And, yeah, that is always a tradition in Turn 1, that there are two cars fighting for the lead.
Max, I have to ask you also a word on Kimi. He's your friend, he just became World Champion. Please say a word for him.
MV: Yeah, it's incredible, of course. What a season he had, and, you know, to do that also at such an age, I think it's just really, really impressive. And, I mean, it's amazing to see the whole team, of course, celebrating with him. His family is here as well, so I'm sure this is a very emotional day for him, and I'm very proud of him.
We look forward to your battles with him starting next year for the next championship. It's going to be big. Lewis, you had a brilliant qualifying yesterday. That lap was magical, and now it just went away from you today. To not quite get that win in P2, is that really disappointing?
Lewis Hamilton: I mean, firstly, look at this crowd. We have to acknowledge them, and a huge congratulations to Kimi and the Mercedes team. It's great to see them all up here celebrating their success. Youngest World Champion ever is pretty phenomenal, and I'm so grateful to be in the race to witness it. Yeah, tough, tough day. I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn't meant to be. And, you know, we'll take it offline and figure out what we can do in the background.
I have to ask, unfortunately, because, of course, the win went away from you in that battle with your teammate that kind of decided it. Take us through that. Do you think the five seconds was fair on Charles, or should he have given the position back?
LH: I mean, in the drivers' briefing, we discussed that as soon as you go off in Turn 1, you have to give the position back. But obviously, last year I got a ten-second penalty for that same move that he did. Ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today, and, yeah, I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes, for sure. But the good thing is the team are working really hard. We've really improved our car. It's great to be here. We're on the old engine this weekend as well, so good result, good points. Shame we didn't get a win, but, you know, some wins, some losses.
Yeah, I think that's a positive. With that car, you can do some more winning towards the end of this year, and who knows next year?
LH: Yeah, give Kimi a run for his money. Yeah, I'm hoping next year we have an engine to be able to actually compete with them. I mean, this year they were just flying past us on most of the straights throughout the year. So if we can fix that and keep this car, the base of it, I think we can do really great. So I'm relying on the team. I have 100% faith in them.
Press Conference
A brilliant race by you, Max. Very well done. After some frustration yesterday, just how sweet was it to get the win from P5 on the grid?
MV: Yes, something that I didn't expect, I think, heading into today. But I think the first start already made my race a bit better, getting into Turn 1, and then, of course, the battle that I saw unfold in Turn 4 put me in a quite nice spot. And then, yeah, it was a bit tough, to be honest. I think Charles just pulled away. I could not really stay with him. I did not have the pace to follow him, but at the same time, I was still within that around five-second window. So, then the team, I think, did a really good job to follow him in, and it's always very tough when you have a five-second penalty to actually make it exactly five seconds. So, I jumped him, and honestly, after that, it was quite tough. Kimi was flying, still, out there on the first set of tyres, and I just did not really have the grip for whatever reason. So, yeah, Charles was very close, but at the same time, it's very hard to follow around here because everything overheats, and that probably helped me as well because I think at one point Charles had to back off just for cooling, and that was quite nice for me. But at the same time, when I saw the Safety Car come out just out of the last corner and I couldn't box, I was like, "There's no way this is happening now," because that was then probably game over for me. Then, of course, it ended up being a red flag, so then it reset everything. I was a bit worried because our starts this year have not been amazing, but luckily today, twice, they have actually been good, and that then made my way till the end. But it was not made easy. I mean, Lewis was in my gearbox, pushing hard. It was basically a qualifying lap till the end. Yeah, it was tough out there. It was a tough race to the end, just to not make any mistakes. But, of course, happy to win today.
There was so much frustration in your voice after the race last weekend. Was today a race where you and Red Bull just got everything right again?
MV: Yeah, what I said also last time, most of the time we get it right. Just a few times you don't get it right, but that's life. That's part of it. That can happen. As long as you learn from it, you come back stronger, and that's what we did.
And finally, Max, just a word on Kimi's achievement today. What stood out about the way he's driven this year?
MV: Well, I think to achieve this in your second year in Formula 1 is always very impressive. Because, of course, at his age as well, to be so solid, not make big mistakes, and, of course, also beat your experienced teammate, he's just driven incredible. And I'm very proud of him, how he has handled himself this whole season. It's not always easy to deliver every single weekend, but he has done that, and he's the deserved champion this year.
Max, thank you very much for that. Lewis, if we could come to you now. You gave it everything out there in what proved to be a very eventful race. Just how do you sum up everything that happened?
LH: I mean, it was beautiful to be up there with these two and to be up there with Kimi for his first World Championship. I think it was a very special moment, one of the most special moments that I remember having here.
And just to sum up, if you could, your race. It was very eventful.
LH: Yeah, it was very eventful. Had a good start, and I think we had the car to win today. Unfortunately, we had the car to easily have first and second, but due to the first two corners, that kind of went away. And then after that, we just gave it basically to Max, and then all they had to do was just stay ahead of us, which he did a good job of doing.
It's a shame because we lost good points for the team. It's something we have to take offline.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City here.
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