Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the race for his second victory of the season, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton claimed second place. The result places Verstappen in second in the overall drivers’ standings, followed by Hamilton in third. Mercedes teammate George Russell finished sixth, a result that eliminated his title hopes and dropped him to fourth place, now trailing Antonelli by 130 points.
The race was defined by significant disruption. On lap 46 of 71, the event was halted after Valtteri Bottas suffered a high-speed front-left suspension failure, sending his Cadillac into the barriers at turn one. Bottas received medical attention in the car before walking to an ambulance, giving a thumbs-up to the crowd. He was subsequently released from the medical centre. The race was red-flagged for 33 minutes before being restarted on lap 47.
From the restart, Verstappen led, challenged closely by Hamilton, while Antonelli passed teammate Charles Leclerc. A second safety car was deployed after a collision between Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri, with the field released to race with nine laps remaining. Hamilton had originally led from pole position, his 105th career start from the front row, but lost the lead to Leclerc after a dispute over turn four. Stewards handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for the incident, which he served on lap 28. Russell, who started from the front row, made a poor launch and later collided with Isack Hadjar, resulting in a 10-second penalty for the British driver.
Antonelli’s achievement breaks the record held by Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest champion at 23 years and 134 days in 2010. It also marks the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Speaking to the crowd with an Italian flag draped over his shoulders, Antonelli said: “I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened… It’s been an incredible season, and to share this podium with Max and Lewis is truly incredible.”
Over team radio, race engineer Peter Bonnington confirmed the title: “Get in there, Kimi. Champion of the world.” Antonelli replied, “We did it thank you so much.” He later explained his final lap performance, stating, “On the last lap, I just backed off because I just couldn’t see the track. I was getting emotional.”
Mercedes currently lead the constructors’ championship with 630 points, ahead of Ferrari on 504. The team could clinch the constructors’ title next week at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
