Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took the win in Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, but a fourth place ensured Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton his fifth world title.
It was a good start from Verstappen in the lead but Hamilton made a storming one to second as pole-sitter Ricciardo dropped to third after a poor getaway. Vettel had a contact with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas but managed to get past the Finn to fourth.
Behind, Racing Point Force India’s Esteban Ocon had a tangle with Renault’s Carlos Sainz where he shed bit of his front wing which hit the car of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley also had a hit to pit along with Ocon.
Alonso, meanwhile, was forced to retire with the part of Ocon’s front wing stuck on his car. At the front though, Verstappen led from Hamilton with Ricciardo keeping Vettel behind while Bottas was fifth from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
The tyres started to give away as Mercedes were the first to pit on Lap 12 in a double stack which forced Red Bull to pit as well with Ricciardo doing it on Lap 13 and Verstappen on Lap 14. The Ferrari drivers double stacked on Lap 17.
Verstappen continued to lead when Sainz retired due to a total shutdown which helped Vettel to close on to Ricciardo as the two battled for third behind a tussling pair of Racing Point Force India’s Sergio Perez and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.
It allowed Vettel to take the advantage and pass Ricciardo for third in Turn 1. The German then caught up with a struggling Hamilton to pass him for second as well with the British driver then losing out to Ricciardo for third.
This forced Mercedes to pit Hamilton and Bottas as well who had a same off moment like his teammate while defending from Raikkonen. The two drivers changed to used ultrasoft as they did not have a new set available.
Ferrari also decided to pit Vettel which dropped him behind Ricciardo again with Hamilton slotting behind Raikkonen in fifth. At the front, Verstappen had a clear margin with the fight for second ongoing between Ricciardo and Vettel.
However, to Ricciardo’s unfortunate luck, the Australian retired again with a problem which handed Vettel second place with Raikkonen promoted to third. The VSC period allowed Mercedes to pit Bottas for a new set of hypersoft tyres.
Having heard about Ricciardo’s issue, Verstappen urged Red Bull to turn down the engine as the Dutchman scored his second win in Mexico after 2017 with Vettel and Raikkonen completing the podium positions.
A fourth place for Hamilton was enough for the British driver to seal his fifth world title and tie with Juan Manuel Fangio – to become the only third driver in F1’s history to win more than four titles. Bottas rounded out the Top 5 after opting for a third stop.
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg did a solid job in sixth with Leclerc finishing seventh after a hefty fight with Perez early on. It was points for McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne in eighth – his first since the Azerbaijan GP.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson made it double points in ninth as the Swiss team overtook Toro Rosso in the teams’ standings after Pierre Gasly finished 10th. Ocon ended up 11th after his late race tangle with Hartley who was 12th.
The Williams’ pair of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin were 13th and 14th respectively with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean only 15th and 16th respectively despite going for a late stop in the race.
It was a disappointing end to the race for Perez who retired due to brake issues in his home event as he was joined by Ricciardo, Sainz and Alonso in the retirement list. The 71-lap saw everyone until Bottas being lapped at least once.
