Max Verstappen delivers Austrian GP jibe after Mexico win.
Max Verstappen could not resist throwing Lewis Hamilton’s own words back at him after their fierce battle in Mexico. The Red Bull driver delivered the jibe following his sixth Mexico City Grand Prix victory, referencing comments Hamilton made at the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this season.
Hamilton tried to go around the outside of Verstappen at Turn 1 on the standing restart that followed the red flag for Valtteri Bottas’s incident. The pair made contact, and Hamilton complained over team radio that Verstappen had hit him.
Verstappen’s Turn 1 Jibe at Hamilton
Verstappen’s response was pointed. “As he himself said a few weeks ago, you don’t overtake a world champion around the outside. That doesn’t happen!” he said. He then doubled down with a grin: “He said it himself!”
The comment landed perfectly. It was classic Verstappen: dry, quick and perfectly timed. He had clearly filed those words away for the right occasion.
What Hamilton Said in Austria
The jibe referred back to the Austrian Grand Prix. There, Hamilton squeezed Verstappen towards the gravel when the Red Bull driver attempted an outside pass at Turn 6.
After that race, Hamilton explained his view: “You don’t expect to go around the outside of a champion. I wouldn’t expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line. He was behind at the apex and therefore he should have backed out.”
How Verstappen Won the Mexico City Grand Prix
Verstappen started fifth in Mexico after a grid penalty, but he produced a strong opening lap. He capitalised when Charles Leclerc and Hamilton tangled at Turn 4, which moved him into a strong position straight after the start. Leclerc received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Red Bull then called Verstappen into the pits at the same time as Leclerc, which allowed him to overtake his penalised rival and take the lead.
From there, Verstappen held the lead all the way to the chequered flag, but it was never comfortable. He was under pressure from Hamilton on both restarts. The first followed Bottas’s incident, and Verstappen admitted he feared for his chances when the race was stopped. The second came after Arvid Lindblad crashed following contact between the Racing Bulls driver and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Ferrari had the stronger car on the day, and Verstappen admitted he felt the heat until the end. “I was sweating at the end to try and keep Lewis behind,” he said. “It’s such a long run to Turn 1 and then to pick your braking point there with a big bump in the middle of the track. I had to be quite careful, and then it is always a tradition in Turn 1 that two cars are fighting for the lead.”
He also described how relentless Hamilton was behind him. “Lewis was in my gearbox, pushing hard,” Verstappen said. “It was basically a qualifying lap till the end. It was a tough race to the end, just to not make any mistakes.” After the flag, his verdict was short: “We gave it everything.”
He held on by just 0.799 seconds from Hamilton, with new world champion Kimi Antonelli completing the podium in third. It was Verstappen’s third win of the 2026 season and his sixth at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Verstappen Wants It Renamed the Maxico Grand Prix
Verstappen was in a very playful mood after the race on Sunday. He joked that the event should be renamed in his honour. “They should actually call it the ‘Maxico’ Grand Prix,” he said. “That would be great.”
He first won at the Mexico City circuit in 2017, and he has now won more races there than at any other venue. He became the fourth driver to score more than five wins at the same venue, and the first to do so at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Verstappen was also puzzled by Leclerc’s penalty. “Normally, that penalty is 10 seconds, and now suddenly it’s five. I find that very strange too. In the end, it makes no difference. Although we had to fight tooth and nail for it.”
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Antonelli Crowned Champion as Hamilton Eyes Ferrari Problems
The race also decided the title. Kimi Antonelli sealed his maiden championship at 20 years and 68 days old, becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history and breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record by three years. Verstappen and Hamilton lifted him onto their shoulders after the race.
Hamilton’s failure to find a way past Verstappen also affected the fight for second place. Verstappen now sits two points ahead of the Ferrari driver in the standings.
There was drama behind the leaders as well. Piastri crossed the line in seventh, but a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Lindblad dropped him to 15th.
Hamilton was more focused on Ferrari’s internal issues after the race, particularly the first-lap clash with Leclerc, which he felt cost the team a potential one-two. The seven-time champion made clear he believed the car had the pace to win.
Hamilton-Verstappen Rivalry Still Burns
The exchange underlines that the Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry remains one of Formula 1’s most compelling storylines, years after their epic 2021 title fight. Both men still race each other with an edge, and neither is prepared to give an inch.
Verstappen’s post-race quip was less about aggression and more about memory. It was a quiet assertion that the rules of engagement cut both ways, and that old comments have a way of coming back around.
On Sunday in Mexico, Verstappen made sure everyone remembered why this rivalry never gets old.