Antonelli
Is Champion.

FORMULA 1 · MEXICO CITY

The youngest champion kept his head through the chaos.

Hamilton’s afternoon had plenty of drama. He lost the lead in a wild opening stretch, and ESPN’s live coverage caught one radio message that summed up the tension: “We’ve got big problems. Big, big problems.”

The race stopped after Valtteri Bottas crashed. Another late Safety Car followed Arvid Lindblad’s crash. Antonelli kept his head through all of it and finished behind Verstappen and Hamilton.

Formula 1 still has Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The drivers’ title is over, but teams are still fighting for position, prize money and momentum for 2027.

NASCAR CUP · MARTINSVILLE

Byron owned the paperclip. Larson owns the advantage.

William Byron put on a short-track clinic. He won both stages and the race, ending a winless stretch that went back to last fall’s Martinsville event. Chase Elliott finished second. Ty Gibbs was third.

The championship story was behind them. Kyle Larson recovered from going a lap down and finished ninth. Christopher Bell finished tenth, and Denny Hamlin finished sixth after Bell and Hamlin were both spun during a three-car incident involving Joey Logano.

This is not the old Championship 4 system. NASCAR returned to a Chase points format in 2026. There are no eliminations and no one-race reset. The driver with the most points after Homestead is the champion.

Bell must outscore Larson by at least 68 points to move ahead. Hamlin must gain at least 71. Both remain mathematically alive; each needs a nearly perfect day and a terrible one for Larson.

Larson’s job is simple: run clean, score points and do not hand the championship away. Bell and Hamlin have to attack from the opening stage.

MOTOGP · MALAYSIA

Marc Márquez carries match point to Qatar.

Márquez won at Sepang by 4.1 seconds over Pedro Acosta. Álex Márquez completed the podium.

The victory gave Marc a 44-point lead over the injured Jorge Martín and a 67-point lead over Marco Bezzecchi. The official calculation is demanding: he can clinch in Qatar if he scores 30 more points than Martín and eight more than Bezzecchi over the weekend.

If he does not close it in Qatar, Portugal follows on November 22 and Valencia closes the season on November 29.

MOTO2 · THE FIGHT NOBODY SHOULD IGNORE

Three and a half points is almost nothing.

David Alonso won the Moto2 race in Malaysia, with Daniel Holgado second and Ángel Piqueras third.

Manuel González leads Izan Guevara by only 3.5 points. One missed corner, one bad start or one small mistake can change the whole championship.

In Moto3, Máximo Quiles had already secured the championship before Malaysia. He still went out and won again, taking his 11th victory of the season. That is not protecting a trophy. That is making a point.

FIA WEC · BAHRAIN

Toyota has one crown. The endurance season has business left.

Toyota has clinched the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship. Its No. 8 crew of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa leads the drivers’ standings, with the No. 7 Toyota crew still chasing.

The eight-hour Bahrain event on November 7 will settle the championships that remain open.