Summary

  • Vertstappen leads Mexico City Grand Prix as Antonelli closes in on world championship

  • Race red flagged on lap 46 after Cadillac driver Bottas slams into barriers

  • Antonelli will clinch title with ninth place - he is currently running in third (full permutations here)

  • Italian Antonelli, 20, would become youngest world champion in Formula 1 history

  • Benson Q&A: Send us your questions

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Pit exit closed

    Lap 46/71

    As we wait for the repairs to be completed, Max Verstappen is leading, Charles Leclerc is second and Kimi Antonelli, who pitted just before the crash for Valtteri Bottas, is fourth.

    Lewis Hamilton is in fourth spot but the seven-time world champion has been unimpressed with how his Mexico City Grand Prix has panned out.

  2. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator in Mexico City

    Valtteri is out of the car, helmet off, walking away, waves to the fans with the assistance of the medical crew.

  3. Team radio - Hamilton to Ferrari

    Hamilton: "We've got big, big problems."

  4. red flag

    Lap 46/71

    The timing of the red flag has not worked out for Lewis Hamilton, who is back on the team radio to say his side of the garage has got "big, big problems".

    The cameras are following Charles Leclerc as he makes his way through the garage. Is Hamilton there too? Let's see a showdown while the race is stopped.

  5. Damon Hill
    1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Live in Mexico City

    That is massive relief to see [Valtteri Bottas] get out though because he took a while to get out.

  6. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on Radio 5 Live in Mexico City

    That slow stop has cost Hamilton, because he has dropped in behind Antonelli by a fraction of a second, had he made that two and half second pit stop, he would have emerged in third again, without losing position and he would have run until the end on a soft set of tyres.

  7. red flag

    Session stopped

    Lap 46/71

    That was a heavy shunt for Valtteri Bottas at Turn One, but the Finn has now climbed out of the car to the delight of the Mexican crowd. It looks like it was suspension failure on the Cadillac that sent Bottas slamming into the barrier.

  8. Team radio - Mercedes to Antonelli

    Engineer: "Safety car."

    Antonelli: "Ah **** mate!"

  9. Safety car

    Lap 45/71

    Max Verstappen leads from Charles Leclerc, but Lewis Hamilton has managed to dive in and make a pit stop under the safety car.

    The medical car has come out and the red flag is shown. Valtteri Bottas seems OK as the marshals arrive on the scene to help the stricken Cadillac driver.

  10. Bottas goes off

    Lap 44/71

    Kimi Antonelli pits - it's a bit slow - and rejoins the action in fourth place on a set of medium tyres.

    But there's a yellow flag, and it's Valtteri Bottas who has gone off in the Cadillac!

  11. Team radio - Leclerc to Ferrari

    Leclerc: "The car is very difficult to drive."

    Engineer: "Yeah, the wake and also the medium is a worse tyre."

  12. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on Radio 5 Live in Mexico City

    Kimi Antonelli is the only man on the track who is still on the tyres he started on. That's 41 laps on the set of soft tyres, way beyond what Pirelli's predictions looked like and yes he is losing around six tenths of a lap to Max Verstappen chasing him down from behind.

  13. Lap 43/71

    Charles Leclerc tells his pit wall the car is really hard to drive as he stays in the final podium place in this place.

    Mercedes are warming up to get Kimi Antonelli in for a pit stop. The Italian is almost there for the 2026 drivers' title.

  14. Lap 42/71

    Isack Hadjar makes a second stop for Red Bull but the Frenchman is currently out of the points in P15.

    Lewis Hamilton is still the fastest man in Mexico City, but he's trailing Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc for the podium places.

  15. Lap 41/71

    Oliver Bearman is one of handful of drivers yet to pit, but now the Haas man heads in - and almost ends up in a bit of bother. He manages to slow down his car before he picks up a penalty, and gets back on track in P14.

  16. Norris heads in to pit

    Lap 40/71

    Lando Norris makes his way, but he just goes a bit too far in front of his crew, making it a slower stop than usual. The reigning world champion rejoins the track in fifth place, just ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

  17. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on Radio 5 Live in Mexico City

    Just thinking about Ferrari's options here. Lewis Hamilton is very quick, Charles Leclerc is now very frustrated, stuck behind Max Verstappen after the penalty that dropped him back after the pit stops, he is now in that situation where he now can't move forward, if he carries on to the chequered flag, it is likely to finish this way.

  18. Lap 39/71

    The fastest stopwatch is not leaving Lewis Hamilton's name anytime soon, as the seven-time world champion tries to chase down Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc from fifth place.

    McLaren are all in position to receive world champion Lando Norris for his pit stop.

  19. Team radio - Mercedes to Antonelli

    Engineer: "Still super happy with these lap times Kimi. Keep it up."

  20. Lap 38/71

    Surrogate dad Pete Bonnington is on the radio to Kimi Antonelli to say the Italian's lap times are looking really good. The 20-year-old is eight seconds clear of Lando Norris in second and 11 seconds free of third place Max Verstappen, who has pitted already.