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Talking Bull discuss the Mexico City Grand Prix
28 min
Talking Bull discuss the Mexico City Grand Prix 2026
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Hear from the Team after the Mexico City Grand Prix
1 min
Hear from the Team after the Mexico City Grand Prix
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Max takes a super sixth in Mexico
Max claimed a stunning sixth Mexico City Grand Prix victory, climbing from fifth on the grid and calmly navigating a red-flag restart, a late Safety Car and sustained pressure from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Race Results
When the lights went out, polesitter Lewis Hamilton made a good getaway to take the lead, but behind him George Russell suffered a poor start due to battery issues. As the field powered down the long run to Turn 1, Charles Leclerc and Max, who had both made good starts on Medium tyres, pounced.
Leclerc slotted into second, with Max muscling his way through to third. On the following straight, the pair tucked in behind Hamilton, looking to slipstream the leading Ferrari.
Leclerc dived to the outside at Turn 4, and, as the pair went wheel to wheel, there was contact. Leclerc ran off track, Hamilton was forced to slow, and Max, who had wisely taken a watching brief, slipped through to take second place. Leclerc was subsequently placed under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Further back, Isack also made a fantastic start. On the run to Turn 1, he passed Lando Norris and the slow-starting Russell to rise to fifth. However, at Turn 5, Russell was overambitious and clipped the right-rear of Isack’s car. The Frenchman spun off track and dropped to the back.
When Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ground to a halt on Lap 7, prompting a brief Virtual Safety Car, Isack pitted to switch from his starting Softs to Mediums before rejoining at the back of the field. Russell was later handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
The stewards, meanwhile, continued to deliberate, allowing Leclerc to build a three-second gap to Max by the start of Lap 12. But a lap later, the Monegasque was handed a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage and the door to victory opened for Max.
At the other end of the order, Isack was embarking on a recovery drive, and as the race passed one-third of the distance, he had climbed to P14, behind home hero Sergio Pérez.
At the end of Lap 27, Leclerc dived into the pit lane to switch to Medium tyres and serve his penalty. The team reacted by pitting Max at the same time and with Leclerc stationary for an additional five seconds, Max was able to swap his Mediums for Softs and rejoin ahead of the Ferrari.
Behind the Dutchman, Isack continued to climb through the field. As rivals pitted around him, he found himself in 10th place before making his second stop on Lap 43 for Soft tyres, dropping back to P14.
A lap later, the race took a dramatic turn. On the run to Turn 1, Valtteri Bottas’s front-left suspension shattered under braking, sending the Cadillac driver sliding into the barriers at high speed. The Safety Car was swiftly deployed and Hamilton pitted, but with the barriers badly damaged, the race was soon red-flagged.
Once the order had been established for the standing restart, Max headed to the front of the grid, ahead of Leclerc, with Hamilton third and Antonelli fourth.
Max made a superb getaway to take the lead. Leclerc, starting on the dirty side of the track, got away poorly, allowing Hamilton to power past into second. The Ferrari driver then challenged for the lead into Turn 1, with momentary contact, but Max held firm to retain top spot.
Max then faced a nervous moment when he was placed under investigation for potentially being too far forward in his grid slot at the restart. However, he was quickly cleared and, with 20 laps remaining, began to pull away from Hamilton.
Max maintained the gap until Lap 59, when Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad crashed out of seventh place at Turn 2 following a collision with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, prompting another Safety Car. But as the Safety Car returned to the pits at the end of Lap 62, it was full-concentration mode for Max, as he executed the perfect restart, pulling clear of Hamilton all the way down the long pit straight.
From there, it was a case of keeping the Ferrari driver at bay. Although Hamilton remained within a second all the way to the flag, Max was unflappable and, after 71 hard-fought laps, crossed the line to claim his 74th career victory. Mexico is now his most successful circuit, with six wins at the high-altitude venue.
Isack, meanwhile, continued to push to the flag after being compromised by the opening-lap incident, but his recovery ultimately ended in P12.
Max’s third victory of the season vaults him to second place in the Drivers' Championship standings. The Dutchman now has 261 points, two clear of Hamilton. The victory also strengthens the Team’s third place in the Constructors’ standings, with Max’s win putting us nine points ahead of McLaren.
It was very hectic out there today
“The first start of the race was very good for me. I just had a very good first lap. I do think we lacked a little bit of pace, but we just hung in there and made the right calls at the right time. Then, of course, the penalty for Charles put us into the lead, and you could see they were always staying with me. So, yeah, it was tough. I was sweating at the end, trying to keep Lewis behind.” said Max afterwards.
The four-time champion also had a word for F1’s newest champion.
“What a season he had, and to do that at such a young age, I think it’s just really impressive. I’m very proud of him.”