Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine gave their verdicts on a race that crowned Kimi Antonelli and ended with a string of penalties.
Formula 1 teams and drivers have given their view of the Mexico City Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won for Red Bull, Kimi Antonelli finished third to clinch the drivers' title with four rounds to go, and penalties reshaped the points places for several teams.
Kimi Antonelli sealed his first world championship in Mexico City by finishing third, and the teams have now explained how a chaotic Grand Prix played out. Max Verstappen took the win for Red Bull, with Lewis Hamilton second for Ferrari.
Mercedes: a title, and an apology to Russell
Antonelli only needed ninth but took the podium, passing Charles Leclerc at the restart after the Ferrari driver picked up a flat-spot. Toto Wolff said the 20-year-old had answered those who doubted him last year, while Andrew Shovlin credited his handling of the soft tyre in the first stint, which ran beyond 40 laps.
George Russell had a different afternoon. A deployment problem on the run to Turn 1 cost him places, and he then touched Isack Hadjar, earning a 10-second time penalty. He finished sixth. Wolff and Shovlin both said the team had let him down, and Russell congratulated Antonelli at the end.
Red Bull: the medium-tyre gamble pays off
Verstappen was the only front-runner to start on the medium tyres. He ran third after a strong launch, passed Hamilton when the Ferrari ran wide, and led after the stops when Leclerc served a time penalty. Red Bull described it as its third win in the last four races. Hadjar was spun on lap one by Russell and fell to last, then needed a second stop.
Ferrari: pace without the win
Hamilton and Leclerc went wheel to wheel at the start, and Leclerc came out of the corner in the lead after cutting the apex. The stewards gave him a five-second penalty, which cost him the lead in the pits. He said it was deserved. At the red-flag restart he locked up, and Hamilton moved past. Ferrari said it had the pace to win and would review what went wrong together.
McLaren and Alpine: penalties bite
Lando Norris spent much of the race stuck behind Russell and then Leclerc. Oscar Piastri collided with Lindblad at the restart while trying to pass and received a post-race time penalty that dropped him from seventh to 13th. McLaren said a straight-line speed limiter and its qualifying positions held it back, and that upgrades arrive in Brazil.
At Alpine, Pierre Gasly was given a stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, falling from ninth to 17th. Franco Colapinto took a 10-second penalty for the same offence and dropped from seventh to 15th.
