Lewis Hamilton took another huge step towards a sixth F1 title with a masterful win - but who else impressed in Mexico City?
Tuesday 29 October 2019 11:44, UK
A fitting champions' drive from Lewis Hamilton as he moves to the brink of taking an incredible sixth title. His afternoon wasn't filled with overtakes, nor did he have to launch into an 'Hammer Time', but Hamilton showed why he is an extremely well-rounded driver as he took a "surprise" victory for Mercedes at one of their least competitive tracks.
Hamilton, who doubted his team's one-stop strategy, had to stay calm and patient as he tried to make his tyres last for 47 laps - which he did expertly while matching his chasing rivals' pace on fresh rubber. And all that in a damaged Mercedes thanks to a first-lap touch with Max Verstappen.
It's no wonder Sky F1's Jenson Button hailed this drive as one of Hamilton's best - and a sixth crown is now surely a foregone conclusion.
Rating out of 10: 9.5
Sebastian Vettel looked like the quicker Ferrari for most of the Mexico weekend and while he still finished ahead of Charles Leclerc in the race, he must be ruing a making a mistake in his first and only qualifying lap in Q3. If it was Vettel, and not Leclerc, who inherited Verstappen's pole, who knows, things might have been different and the German could have controlled this race. He certainly looked to be more comfortable with his tyres.
Instead, Vettel, despite pitting 13 laps later than Hamilton, couldn't ever get close to DRS range and perhaps Ferrari should have brought him earlier to stop the Mercedes building such an advantage. Vettel initially admitted Ferrari could have been a "bit sharper" with their strategy - although later said Mercedes had the quicker car. But he would say that!
Vettel knows he can't overhaul Leclerc in the qualifying head-to-head this year - but he still does seem smarter, and often quicker, on a Sunday.
Rating out of 10: 8.5
Considering Valtteri Bottas was shaken up after his scary qualifying crash and started sixth - this was an admirable race day drive from the Finn. And it was also one which delayed Hamilton's title coronation, for now.
Bottas struggled off the line, and made contact with Verstappen as the Red Bull charged up the inside through the stadium section, but showed impressive pace once in clear air and easily closed up to Vettel after the first stop. He may well have had the fastest car in the closing stages, too - we just didn't get to see it.
Bottas was fortunate his mistake in qualifying didn't prove more costly as Mercedes fixed his wrecked car without incurring a penalty, but he made up for it on Sunday with an unlikely podium. Now he just needs to win every race until the end of the season, and hope Hamilton scores fewer than four points. Simple, right?
Rating out of 10: 8
Charles Leclerc would have at least expected to stand on an amazing Mexico podium after lining up on pole. Unfortunately for him, two-stopping simply didn't work.
Ferrari, perhaps foolishly, reacted to Red Bull's early stop with Alex Albon and that forced Leclerc into a different strategy than his race-contending rivals. Leclerc didn't blame Ferrari, but admitted he could have been more "reactive" on team radio. Leclerc was then also unlucky in a slow second pit-stop, losing four seconds which could have been crucial - although the Monegasque didn't quite seem to have the pace all afternoon.
Leclerc is still phenomenally quick on a Saturday, 11-7 up on Vettel for the year. He's officially won that qualifying duel.
Rating out of 10: 8
He finished fourth in Japan, but this was arguably Alex Albon's most complete weekend since joining Red Bull. Without that two-stop strategy which hampered Leclerc, he may well have been celebrating a first podium, too.
Albon qualified fifth and was up to third and closely tailing the Ferraris after a strong start, but was the first of the leading group to pit and was well behind the race-contending quartet after his second stop - despite a sub 2s effort from Red Bull.
He has to cut out mistakes like the P2 crash which gave Red Bull plenty of work to do on Friday night, but the team believe he's improving quickly. "He's showing good progress each weekend and signs of getting closer and closer to the pace," said Christian Horner.
Rating out of 10: 8
What could have been for Max Verstappen. If he had kept his pole, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Verstappen disappear into the distance in Mexico - just as he had the previous two years. But that wasn't the case and that regrettable decision to ignore yellow flags in qualifying, followed by a controversial press conference, gave him a three-place grid penalty, sending him back into the pack, and that eventually led to a scrappy start and contact with Hamilton.
Soon after, a recovering Verstappen was closed in on by Bottas at an admittedly tight corner and suffered a puncture on Lap 5. At the back of the field, his race seemed to be over.
Verstappen deserves great credit for his resilient recovery, and his incredible 65-stint on hard tyres hinted that the Dutchman may well have had the best race car. But you have to be in the hunt to show that, and Verstappen, on Saturday at least, spoiled his chances of being there.
Rating out of 10: 7
Sergio Perez has become quite the master of pouncing on opportunities over the years and he proved that again on Sunday. Starting outside the top 10 certainly helped his tyre strategy, as the Racing Point driver had free choice at the start, allowing him to one-stop, but from there on a seventh-placed finish was all Sergio's doing as he dazzled in front of a jubilant home crowd. He even kept a charging Ricciardo at bay in the closing stages.
That's four top-seven finishes since the summer break for the Mexican, displaying the form which we have become so accustomed to seeing but which had disappeared in the first half of the season.
Rating out of 10: 9
Speaking of managing tyres, Daniel Ricciardo showed that in abundance with an epic first stint. Ricciardo lasted 50 laps (or has he humorously told Verstappen in a must-watch Sky F1 interview above, 120 laps) on mediums, which he started the race on. That allowed Ricciardo to attack Perez at the end, but one of his famous late lunges into Turn One didn't pay off as locked up onto the grass. Still, worth an effort which and it would have capped a marvellous race day if it came off.
As Sky F1's Martin Brundle noted in commentary, it's a shame to see a driver of Ricciardo's talents scrapping in the midfield - but he's been incredibly good at extracting the maximum out of that Renault in recent months.
Rating out of 10: 8.5
Pierre Gasly was one of the few midfield drivers for which a two-stop strategy panned out favourably, as Toro Rosso's decision to pit him after just seven laps allowed him to stretch out his following stints and leapfrog his rivals. He was one of the two beneficiaries from Daniil Kvyat's penalty, but it was a good day's work from the Frenchman - especially considering he was feeling unwell for much of the weekend. That's now four points finishes in six races since being demoted by Red Bull.
Rating out of 10: 7.5
Renault went for a different strategy compared to Ricciardo with Nico Hulkenberg, with the German pitting around the same time as Hamilton. That meant he was clinging on with his hard tyres for ninth at the end of the race, before being punted into the wall by Kvyat. He scored a point thanks to the Russian's penalty, but Renault's race day pace showed more was probably available for Hulk who admitted that "we definitely wanted more today".
Still, he did beat Ricciardo in qualifying - no mean feat. Brundle even suggested that Red Bull should give Hulkenberg a lifeline in the sport if they want experience to partner Verstappen next year.
Rating out of 10: 7
Daniil Kvyat had been the quicker of the two Toro Rosso drivers and had a ninth-place finish in his sights before he was, somewhat unfortunately considering what others have got away with in recent months, handed a 10-second penalty for nudging Hulkenberg into the barriers. "They just kill the sport like this," said an angry Russian - although you can see why the FIA came down so hard on him.
Rating out of 10: 6.5
Another Q1 elimination for Lance Stroll and although he bounced back in the race, running in the top-10 after a solid first stint, it was a disappointing day considering what his team-mate was able to achieve. It was the second stint on hard tyres which ruined Stroll's race, as the Canadian suffered with heavy tyre wear.
"It's a shame we couldn't capitalise on the track position we had to score some points today," said Stroll.
Rating out of 10: 6
Carlos Sainz qualified an increasingly regular seventh and was running as high as fourth after passing the Mercedes at the start of the race, but McLaren's pace bizarrely fell off a cliff on the hard tyre as Sainz claimed the car felt "strange". Another 'best of the rest' finish was on the cards here before that lack of pace, although the Spaniard is confident the problems the improving team faced were a "one-off".
Rating out of 10: 6.5
Alfa Romeo's race day woes continue. Antonio Giovinazzi showed solid pace in the first half of the race, reaching the top 10 at one stage, but a pit-stop issue put him well down the field and he was unable to recover. Points here may have been a stretch, anyway.
Rating out of 10: 6
Haas have been awful when it comes to tyre management this season so a high downforce Mexico circuit in high altitude was never going to suit them - and so it proved. Kevin Magnussen was their quicker driver this weekend, but even though he claimed "I think we did the best that we could" - the Dane finished 15th. First-lap contact with Kimi Raikkonen didn't help.
Rating out of 10: 7
George Russell extends his qualifying streak over Robert Kubica and is still the only driver to hold a 100 per cent record this season. That, and the race where he also finished ahead of the Pole - albeit after his team-mate's late pit-stop - is about all you can judge the rookie on.
Rating out of 10: 6.5
After starting 18th, Romain Grosjean ran towards the back for most of the race. A miserable afternoon for the Frenchman. Will a Haas home race in Austin offer the team some much-needed joy?
Rating out of 10: 5.5
Robert Kubica was out-qualified by Russell by well over a second in qualifying but he certainly enjoyed a better race day, and was ahead of his young team-mate before having to pit with a slow puncture. Only three more races left at Williams for Kubica, though it looks like he could remain in F1 - albeit with a simulator role at Haas.
Rating out of 10: 6
Kimi Raikkonen became the first driver to start an F1 race in his 40s since Michael Schumacher and Pedro De La Rosa in 2012 on Sunday. Unfortunately, he didn't finish it. He picked up damage on the first lap and his pace was never there after that, with Alfa deciding to retire the car after 57 laps.
Rating out of 10: 6
A frustrating day at the office for Lando Norris. Like Sainz, he made a good start but McLaren botched his pit-stop and he was a lap down on the field after being pushed back to the pits to restart the process. He didn't finish the race, although Sainz's pace on the hard tyre meant it was unlikely he would have scored points anyway.
Rating out of 10: 6
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