MEXICAN GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS
Vettel started the Mexican GP on pole, alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The pair made contact as Verstappen moved into the lead heading into the first corner, damaging the Ferrari’s front wing. Vettel moved over into Hamilton, who started third, colliding with the Mercedes right-rear tyre.
Both were forced into the pits at the end of the lap – Hamilton with a puncture and Vettel with a damaged front wing.
The opening lap incident triggered a battle through the field for both championship contenders. Vettel, who was running 19th by the end of the first lap, pulled off a series of exciting moves to make it up to fourth by the chequered flag.
It wasn’t enough to keep his championship hope alive, though, as Hamilton’s ninth place put him 56 points ahead of the Ferrari driver with only 50 points on offer from the final two races.
With Hamilton and Vettel out of the fight, Verstappen was left unchallenged at the front of the field. He was nearly 20 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in second when he crossed the line, taking his third F1 victory.
Kimi Raikkonen finished third after starting fifth, taking his sixth podium finish of the season.
Brendon Hartley triggered a virtual safety car just before the midpoint of the 71-lap race. In only his second race in F1, Harley’s Toro Rosso had stopped on track with an engine problem.
Fellow Renault powered driver Nico Hulkenberg retired with an engine problem, while Daniel Ricciardo’s race was cut short after five laps due to a turbo issue.
Esteban Ocon took fifth after falling behind Vettel late in the race. He finished ahead of Lance Stroll, team-mate Sergio Perez, and Kevin Magnussen.
Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10.
After a strong qualifying, Carlos Sainz Jnr dropped to the back of the field on the second lap. He managed to continue until the final stages of the race, when he claimed his car was pulling on the straights.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson looked set for his first points of the season, but was forced to retire late in the race with a brake-by-wire problem.
Felipe Massa finished 11th, just ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly, who battled their way up through the field after starting at the back of the grid.
Pascal Wehrlein and Romain Grosjean in 14th and 15th were the final finishers.
RESULTS:
1. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 25 Points
2. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 18 Points
3. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 15 Points
4. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 12 Points
5. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France / + 10 Points
6. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada / + 8 Points
7. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 6 Points
8. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 4 Points
9. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 2 Points
10. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain / + 1 Point
11. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
12. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
13. Pierre Gasly / Toro Rosso-Renault / France
14. Pascal Wehrlein / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
15. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France
RETIRED - Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain / Steering
RETIRED - Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / Suspension
RETIRED - Brendon Hartley / Toro Rosso-Renault / New Zealand / Engine
RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / Engine
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia / Turbo
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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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