F1. Mexico 2026 Review

Driver of the Weekend

Graeme: After winning his millionth Mexico Grand Prix, the most he’s won at any track, you’d think Max Verstappen would be the choice here. Or after winning the World Championship, Kimi Antonelli could be another option. But not for me folks. The feisty kiwi, Liam Lawson is my Driver of the Day. After some shitty luck in Qualifying, when he made a technical infringement that no one understands, he started in pit lane before steadily jinking and jiving his way through the field to finish in 7th place. This drive won’t get many mentions from most pundits, but I couldn’t let it go unnoticed.

Chelsea: Liam Lawson scoops the title this week. It was an eventful weekend for the Kiwi – in FP2 he and Max Verstappen collided, resulting in a red flag and single place grid penalties for both. This was an inconsequential penalty for Lawson, who was forced to start the race from the pit lane after he held his throttle too long in Q2. During the race itself, Lawson held his own, finishing in 7th place, albeit thanks to some fortuitous penalties awarded to other drivers. Whispers continue in the paddock that Lawson will be replaced in the RB by a rookie in 2027 – a decision that must leave him wondering what else he could possibly do.

Gavin: Max Verstappen is my Driver of the Weekend. He qualified fourth and then took advantage of the shambles that is Ferrari to eventually take the lead and win the race. Special mention to Ryo Hirakawa who took over from Esteban Ocon at Haas this weekend and finished in tenth place on debut.

Aiden: As Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton got themselves into a Ferrari tangle on lap one, Max Verstappen done what Max Verstappen does, and took advantage. Getting in-between them was genius – suddenly, Leclerc couldn’t just give Hamilton the position back, and was instead forced to try and build a lead to wipe out the five second time penalty that seemed inevitable. The Dutchman has now won three races in a month, and he’s suddenly second in the driver’s standings. Kimi Antonelli may be the new world champion, but it’s hard to argue that Verstappen is still the best in show.

Talking Point

Graeme: Will Liam Lawson get a drive next year? There are only a few people that know the answer to that. Meanwhile there has been endless speculation going around about whether he will or not. His results this season speak for themselves. He’s had multiple points finishes and continues to be the “best of the rest”, in 9th place in the standings with 83 points, pretty much double the points of his nearest rival in 10th. That’s enough, isn’t it? As we all know by now, there are a lot more factors at play than just on track performance. My opinion has flip flopped on this for a while now and I don’t think he’ll be on the grid in 2027. I think the Racing Bulls, or whatever they’re called now will pump for Nik Tsanev in that seat. I hope I’m wrong.

Chelsea: Almost two years into his time at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton bagged his first pole position for the team – but it wasn’t to last. Despite a commanding start, Hamilton and Leclerc clashed on the entrance to turn 4, with both cars leaving the track and Leclerc finishing the scuffle out in front in clean air. A five second penalty was duly assigned to the impetuous Monagasque, but could barely be called a penalty as the damage had been done. Astonishingly, and yet somehow not astonishingly, Ferrari had not discussed this precise situation in pre-race strategising at all. Team Principal Fred Vasseur pursed his lips and braced himself for the post-race bickering. Classic Ferrari. My sister, watching from the UK, sent a message: “Are you watching? Everyone’s so angry.” It was a long working day waiting to catch up on it all.

Gavin: When the Ferrari team are not being all Ferrari about something don’t worry, because their drivers then step up to be all Ferrari about something. I have seen so many videos showing Charles Leclerc being in the wrong, and then an equal amount showing Lewis Hamilton being in the wrong. Charles may have taken the lead but that five second penalty allowed Max to take the lead and the win, all the while we had Lewis on the radio broadcasting all the dirty laundry to the world. Seriously unprofessional from both drivers and I think team principal Fred Vasseur will be tearing strips off his two drivers over the next few days. Expect some kind of apology from the drivers once we get to Brazil.

Aiden: Lewis Hamilton went from being the happiest of happy Larrys to a very grumpy older brother within 24 hours in Mexico. After papaya rules at McLaren last season, the Brit now wants something similar at Ferrari – scarlet red rules perhaps? It’s the age old conundrum in F1 – a team sport, where the individual teammates are hungry to outperform each other. But is the fact that Hamilton is going so public on this, actually causing a problem with the team ?Aren’t there plenty of times where he himself, most notably when he was teammates with Nico Rosberg, raced just as hard? Leclerc knew he should have given the place back, but it was complicated and didn’t work out – but I bet he doesn’t regret making the move.

Gossip Time

Graeme: Oh Ferrari, what have you done this time? Being a Ferrari fan is a tough old gig, I’ll tell ya. Every week, there’s something they do that’s just weird. A few weeks ago in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton took it into his own hands to determine the strategy, and butchered that race. This week their two drivers, nearly collided in the opening corners of the race, potentially costing Hamilton a race win. At least that’s what we heard about all race anyway. You’d think there would be conversations about all possible scenarios, particularly heading into the notoriously tricky first 3 or 4 corners in Mexico, but Ferrari look like they’re just winging it and hoping for the best. It’s not a great look guys.

Chelsea: Despite the pending excitement of F1’s youngest ever world champion, my interest was captured most of the weekend with Estaban Ocon. In his native France, “con” means idiot, or moron, and it sounds like the Haas driver may have brought some of that energy into Friday’s practice sessions. Ocon already knew he would not be returning to the grid in 2027, with his team choosing Rafael Camara as his replacement. After some moderate radio tension in FP2 around tyre choice, Ocon either or did or said something behind closed doors with Team Principal Ayao Komatsu that left his position with the team untenable. After being replaced for the weekend by Japanese driver Ryō Hirakawa, the team have no confirmed his departure as permanent. It’s a disappointing end to a career for the Frenchman, who falls just shy of 200 race caps, presumably due to the fact that he can’t regulate his mood.

Gavin: Where do we even start with this one – Esteban Ocon dropped by Haas (and is this now the end of his F1 career or will he back for the final few races – officially answered today that he is out and replaced by Brazilian rookie Rafael Camara who has the seat for 2027), Aston Martin retiring both cars (Adrian Newey is a genius you just wait and see), George Russell sulking about team mate Kimi Antonelli winning the Driver Championship and not fulfilling media responsibilities, Isack Hadjar in trouble for taking exception to being handled by a member of the public, Ferrari ha ha…

Aiden: Surely this is the weekend that Liam Lawson officially gets a 2027 seat at Racing Bulls…it takes a lot more time to negotiate a contract extension than it does to show someone the door. Despite having an eventful weekend, the Kiwi again finished with decent points and showed what an asset he is.

Looking Ahead

Graeme: Now that Antonelli has finally wrapped this thing up, the season’s over isn’t it? Pack your bags, head home, stick a fork in it, job done. No? Ok then, let’s hit up Brazil this week then. See you there.

Chelsea: It’s poor form of me to conclude this race review without shouting out the pride of Italy and F1’s newest world champion, Kimi Antonelli. The young man has made it look so easy this year that it’s almost been boring. Aside from one bedraggled Englishman who slunk off home, the entire paddock was delighted for Kimi, as am I. Next week, my favourite race of all – Brazil! There is plenty still to play for, especially those big bags of cash on offer in the constructor’s championship. Here’s to a wet race!

Gavin: Next up is Brazil – where we get to play the “did you know Interlagos means ‘between the lakes'” drinking game. Mercedes should clinch the Constructors Championship here and I suspect the hangovers in that garage will last longer than Lance Stroll in a race.

Aiden: The driver’s championship may be decided, but there’s plenty still to compete for and Brazil this weekend should be a cracker. Can Ferrari get a win? Can George Russell regain some form? Can Liam Lawson get a new contract? Time will tell

Bonus Picture(s)