Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history by securing third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull took the race win, with Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari finishing second.
Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with his team-mate Charles Leclerc after the race. The conflict between the two Ferrari drivers occurred as early as the opening lap. Hamilton stated that Ferrari would likely have achieved a double victory had they cooperated in that first lap. "When your team-mate is working against you and you lose positions like that, it is definitely difficult," Hamilton said.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur lamented the missed opportunity for a double win and admitted he was "frustrated". Leclerc, however, responded: "I could also be unhappy about how hard he pushed me off the track on the exit of the first corner, but that is racing. When you are fighting for the win, that is how it should be." He added: "In the end, we both made a mistake entering the fourth corner. There was no contact. We both went straight and that gave Max the chance to overtake."
Had Verstappen not overtaken Hamilton as a consequence of the incident, Leclerc could have regained the position by the 11th corner, as required by the rules. Hamilton revealed after the race that Ferrari "has no engagement rules". McLaren, on the other hand, has such rules. One of them is that they do not collide with each other, and another is that the team result comes first. "We need to sort this out. Something definitely has to change," Hamilton said.
In the MotoGP world, a large majority of riders signed a letter addressed to the sport's leadership expressing their preference not to race in Qatar. Yamaha withdrew from the Qatar race, citing corporate travel policy. The Qatar race will still take place. MotoGP, like Formula 1, is owned by the American group Liberty Media.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz stated at the United States Grand Prix: "(The sport's leaders) look very confident that the race will take place." He added: "Personally, and not speaking on behalf of the GPDA, it is very difficult to be confident right now because things are still happening in the Middle East, and it is also clear that there will be elections in the US. I think it is relatively early to be so confident." Sainz and Williams subsequently spoke to Formula 1, and Williams issued a statement "clarifying" Sainz's remarks.
