Photo from Formula 1
We all essentially knew it for a while, but now it is official.
We have a brand new Formula 1 World Champion, and he is the youngest ever.
But there was still a race alongside of that, so let’s get to it.
Losers
5. Aston Martin
Disastrous season for Aston Martin.
Disastrous weekend.
They stunk in qualifying. They stunk in the race. Fernando Alonso is pissed off.
Just flush it.
4. Cadillac
Another team with a miserable season so far has been Cadillac, but nothing is worse than what happened this weekend, when Valtteri Bottas’ suspension failed going over 200 miles per hour on the front straight.
A dangerous crash, thanks to a dangerous race car.
3. Alpine
Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly both finished inside the points, getting a nice haul of points for Alpine.
Unfortunately, both drivers received post race penalties for failing to slow during yellow flags, meaning both of them ended up getting 10 second penalties and, because of that, no points at all.
Penalties were a common theme this weekend.
2. FIA Stewards
We need to do something about the rulebook in this sport.
At the end of the race, Oscar Piastri and Arvid Lindblad had an accident.
The two cars were side by side, Lindblad went for the apex of the corner despite Piastri being inside of him, was hit, and crashed out of the race.
Every sane viewer saw that as a racing accident, or Lindblad being mostly at fault.
But not the stewards!
No, because Piastri was not “ahead at the apex,” it is his responsibility to I guess turn into a ghost and make his car impossible to run into, because Piastri got a 10 second penalty and fell out of the points for the incident.
Sometimes these guys just don’t seem to have any common sense when it comes to penalties.
1. Ferrari
Ferrari were the dominant team.
Ferrari had a 1-2 start going into the first corners of the track.
Ferrari ended up finishing 2nd and 4th because Leclerc, after fighting Hamilton into a corner and cutting the chicane, got a 5 second penalty for gaining an advantage off track and let Max Verstappen come right through to pass Hamilton.
Classic Ferrari.
Defeat from the jaws of victory.
Winners
5. Gabriel Bortoleto
It’s been a bit since Bortoleto finished in the points, so an 8th place finish here in Mexico was a much welcome result for the young Brazilian.
4. Lewis Hamilton
It should have been a better finish for the Ferrari driver, but it was still a podium and a pole position for the 7 time champ.
Nothing bad about that.
3. Max Verstappen
But the win came for Max Verstappen, who overtook Lewis Hamilton on lap one and never looked back.
2. Ryo Hirakawa
Esteban Ocon qualified in the Haas but then, after a dispute within the team, Haas decided that Ocon would not be racing for Haas this weekend (and maybe for the rest of this year).
No pressure, kid.
Just your first ever Formula 1 race with one practice under your belt.
But Ryo made the most of it, as he finished 10th in the race and was able to bring in a point on his debut.
One hell of a start.
1. Kimi Antonelli
But there was only ever one possible winner this weekend, and that’s Kimi Antonelli.
Just 20 years old, and champion of the world.
Nobody thought he would be here this year.
People thought Mercedes would be a quick car, and they were right, but everyone thought it would be team veteran George Russell that ran away with the championship.
Instead, it was the young Italian who dominated from start to finish.
Great qualifying. Constant winning.
Kimi Antonelli is officially here, and will be here for a while.
I would be baffled if this was the only championship for Antonelli.
