Checo Pérez Finishes His 300th Grand Prix as Mexico City Crowns F1’s Youngest Champion

This weekend, the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix marked several historic milestones, making it one of the season’s most exciting events. Mexico’s Sergio “Checo” Pérez completed his 300th Formula 1 Grand Prix with a 16th-place finish for Cadillac at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen claimed victory, and 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli secured his place in Formula 1 history.

Pérez started from 20th on the grid and made a strong start, gaining six positions on the opening lap and eventually climbing to 13th. However, a problematic pit stop on Lap 30 derailed his progress. An issue with one of Cadillac’s wheel guns resulted in a 28.9-second stop, costing him valuable track position. He also received a five-second penalty for exceeding the pit-lane speed limit by just 0.2 km/h. Despite trying to recover, Pérez couldn’t make up the lost ground and finished 16th with no points.

Checo wasn’t the only driver to fluctuate in the standings, making this a particularly exhilarating race. Verstappen, starting fifth, capitalized on an intense interteam battle between Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc received a time penalty following an opening-lap incident, allowing the Red Bull driver to take the lead. Verstappen then held off Hamilton through two restarts, including one following a red flag triggered by a heavy crash involving Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas. A late Safety Car, deployed after a collision between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, added another challenge before Verstappen secured his third victory of the season, just 0.799 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

Yet, the biggest story of the afternoon belonged to Antonelli. The Italian started fourth and finished third, four seconds behind Verstappen and secured enough points to clinch his first Drivers’ World Championship. At 20, he became the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, surpassing the previous age record set by Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title at 23 in 2010.

For Pérez, completing 300 Grands Prix remains a significant milestone in a career that has made him one of Mexico’s biggest sports celebrities. The home crowd made sure to show Checo their unwavering support throughout each lap.

With Antonelli’s championship marking a generational shift at the front of the sport, plenty of speculation will follow the next F1 race. The next chapter will be written in Brazil for the São Paulo Grand Prix, scheduled for November 6–8.