Driver championship standings
1 Hamilton 363
2 Bottas 289
3 Leclerc 235
4 Vettel 230
5 Verstappen 220
Kvyat is given a 10-second penalty for the Hulkenberg tussle, so ends up 11th not the 9th he thought he was.
Vettel says it was an intense race and the hard tyres worked better than anyone expected. He had Bottas behind him so Hamilton was cruising for the second stint and he too praises the crowd.
Hamilton starts by thanking the crowd, saying it’s the best he’s ever seen. He says it’s an incredible result, thanks his team, and says they came on the back foot thinking it was a hard race for them. His car was damaged, but he hung in there and doesn’t mind waiting for the championship. He loves racing, is not just humbled by “incredibly humbled” and hopes people enjoyed the race.
Finishers
1 Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Vettel (Ferrari)
3 Bottas (Mercedes)
4 Leclerc (Ferrari)
5 Albon (Red Bull)
6 Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Perez (Racing Point)
8 Ricciardo (Renault)
9 Gasly (Toro Rosso)
10 Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
12 Stroll (Racing Point)
13 Sainz Jr (McLaren)
14 Giovinazzi (Alfa)
15 Magnussen (Haas)
16 Russell (Haas)
17 Grosjean (Haas)
18 Kubica (Williams)
Updated
Hulkenberg drove into a wall arguing over a place with Kvyat. The stewards will look into that one, I shouldn’t wonder.
“Yeeees!” Hamilton advises his team. “Thank you so much for all your hard work. That was a tough race, thanks so much for all your support as always.”
What a strange race that was. Great at the start, interesting through the middle with a belting finish on the card, then exhibition stuff at the end.
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE MEXICAN GRAND PRIX!
Sebastian Vettel is second, and Valtteri Bottas third, meaning the battle for the driver championship goes onto Texas in two weeks’ time. Hamilton must score four more points to secure his sixth title!
Updated
Lap 71/71 Hamilton is cruising. His lead is down to 1.8s. but it doesn’t matter.
Lap 70/71 So the promised grandstand finish hasn’t materialised, but by way of compensation we’ve had bestowed upon us some absolute exhibition driving from Lewis Hamilton. He is so, so good.
Lap 69/71 Vettel takes four tenths out of Hamilton, but it’s too little too late.
Lap 69/71 Hamilton will finish 10 points ahead of Bottas, so will need to finish four or more ahead of him in Austin, Texas, which is where the circus heads next.
Lap 68/71 Hamilton will make it his 100th podium for Mercedes - only Michael Schumacher, with 116 for Ferrari, has more for one team.
Lap 67/71 Hamilton extends his lead back towards 2.4s, and he has this in the bag.
Updated
Lap 66/71 Verstappen, meanwhile, is sixth - a pretty decent shift from last. He’ll have done 67 laps on these tyres by the end.
Lap 65/71 This is proper expertise from Hamilton, who’s managed his tyres brilliantly. He just set the record for the fastest middle sector of the race and a personal best lap - Ferrari thought his tyres would be rinsed by now, but they’re showing no such signs.
Lap 64/71 Leclerc looks finished. He’s 2.495 behind Bottas and making no real impression.
Lap 63/71 Vettel now leads Bottas by 1.454s, but Hamilton’s lead over Vettel has been cut to 1.923s - it was roughly 2.4s.
Lap 62/71 Hamilton must be starting to believe.
Lap 61/71 Leclerc just put in the slowest lap of the top four, whole Hamilton stuck in his fastest lap of the race. If he pulls this one off, it’ll be the definitive finding a way to win. Meanwhile, Ricciardo attacks Perez with DRS, goes onto the grass, somehow comes back on ahead and then give back seventh place!
Updated
Lap 60/71 Bottas is doing well to hold off Leclerc and keep the championship alive for another race. It’s beginning to look like Hamilton’s race isn’t it?
Lap 59/71 Leclerc attacks Bottas, but can’t quite manage to get up to him, losing pace in the process!
Lap 58/71 5.6s between the top four, ooh yeah! Hamilton has done 34 laps on tyres that he didn’t like to begin with - can he get round on them? Surely not!
Lap 57/71 Does Leclerc hold the key? If he nails Bottas, Hamilton can clinch it today, and that’s more likely with Bottas attacking Vettel.
Lap 56/71 But Bottas is after Vettel! The gap between them is 0.751s but it’s not quite enough even with DRS. hamilton now leads Vettel by 2.571 - when will Hamilton stop again, when will Vettel attack?
Lap 55/71 Leclerc is closing, and Bottas will have a problem sooner rather than later.
Lap 54/71 Leclerc will be within striking distance of Bottas in six laps, it is reckoned, Leclerc sitting fourth and Bottas third.
Updated
Lap 53/71 This is like a jungle tune, setting it up, setting up setting it up ready for the drop. When is it gonna come?
Lap 52/71 Bottas looks to line up DRS for a shy at Vettel. The gap is roughly a second.
Lap 51/71 Ricciardo, who’s hanging about in sixth waiting for a safety car, comes in - the last man to pit. Norris, meanwhile, decides that enough’s enough or has it decided for him - lapping two behind isn’t doing anyone any good.
Updated
Lap 50/71 A holding lap. 10.8s covers the top four.
Lap 49/71 This is properly set up! Albon sets the fastest lap so far - can he insinuate himself into the finish?
Lap 48/71 Hamilton leads Vettel by 2.428, but Bottas is chilling nicely, a further 1.6s or so behind.
Lap 47/71 Vettel’s tyres are 13 laps younger than Hamilton’s, and Hamilton will need to stop again ... we assume. At what point does Vettel put his foot down?
Lap 46/71 Hamilton leads, but Bottas lies third. If it stays like this, he’ll need to wait at least another race to take the title.
Lap 45/71 In goes Albon and that’s how it’s done. He comes out in fifth and Hamilton leads Vettel by 3.412. Vettel’s team think this will be the battle.
Lap 44/71 Leclerc stops and they botch it! He stays in the pit too long when they don’t get the rear right tyre on properly! He comes out in fifth, and Hamilton leads! Albon is 2.030s behind him, Vettel another 1.352 away.
Lap 43/71 Verstappen sees Perez off, but has 16 seconds to get to Ricciardo. Sharl Leclerc still leads, 8.412 second ahead of Hamilton. Albon is a further three or so second behind ... but ...
Lap 42/71 Verstappen is now up to eighth, challenging Perez ahead of him. Ricciardo is ahead of that, then Bottas in front of him. I’m not sure it’s happening for Hamilton tonight.
Lap 41/71 I mean, obviously they can if things go wrong, but otherwise he looks set to cash in when the other stop.
Lap 40/71 I’m not sure how anyone can beat Vettel here.
Lap 39/71 Hamilton’s tyres look pretty ropey - someone has misread the conditions. He and Leclerc will both stop again, which makes things look good for Vettel.
Lap 38/71 Vettel leads by 3.9s as he goes into the pit and Leclerc assumes the lead, Hamilton next, then Albon, Vettel coming out in fourth. The gap between first and second is 8.118s.
Updated
Lap 37/71 The reduced gap encourages Bottas to stop while the going’s good, and he comes out fifth, behind Albon and Hamilton.
Lap 37/71 Have a look! That battle has naused Vettel right up, and his lead is down to 3.309s.
Lap 36/71 Vettel comes up behind a battle for 12th between Sainz and Gasly, which might help the chasing pack. Sainz does a great job of braking late to hang onto his position.
Lap 35/71 In commentary, no one knows whose going to win. If we don’t have a safety car, I guess I’d go Vettel because everyone else will stop again, but hamilton’s team keep telling him he can win every time he doubts it.
Lap 34/71 Vettel leads by 5.249s, Bottas leads Leclerc by about a second, Leclerc leads Hamilton by about a second.
Lap 33/71 I wonder if and when Hamilton will pit again. Surely if he’s not enjoying his tyres he needs to do it sooner rather than later. Let’s have a list:
1. Vettel
2. Bottas
3. Leclerc
4. Hamilton
5. Albon
6 ricciardo
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Lap 32/71 Vettel is absolutely chilling here, still without pitting. He leads by six or so seconds.
Lap 31/71 Hamilton is back on the radio complaining about his hard compound tyres. He’s 0.97 behind Leclerc.
Lap 30/71 Hamilton obviously hasn’t made the dent in the lead that he expected. Meanwhile, Christian Horner says he fancies a safety car to “bring this race alive”.
Lap 29/71 Hamilton wonders to his team if he’s come in too early - “way too early”, he says. Well!
Lap 28/71 Verstappen takes out Hulkenberg and moves into 12th.
Lap 27/71 On we go.
Lap 26/71 Vettel leads by 6.440, with Bottas then Leclerc. He can hold up Hamilton if his team deem that the thing to do, but can Vettel possibly win from here, given he’s still not stopped? It’s looking good for Mercedes as far as I can see.
Lap 25/71 Still Vettel and Bottas stay out as Verstappen eases by Gasly and into 12th.
Lap 24/71 Hamilton comes out in fourth and has plenty of clear track to spank in a lap before the Ferraris retort. Leclerc knows that if he wants to finish above Hamilton he’ll have to overtake him on the track - Mercedes’ strategy, allied to Hamilton’s driving is better.
Lap 23/71 Vettel leads Hamilton by 1.2s as Hamilton pits. Bottas and Vettel keep at it.
Lap 22/71 Hamilton tells his team that his tyres are getting hot – though not, of course, as hot as Lord Flasheart’s pants.
Updated
Lap 21/71 A holding lap.
Lap 20/71 Vettel, who has also yet to pit, leads Hamilton by 1.9s. By the looks of things, if he’s to win the title tonight, Hamilton needs to win and needs Bottas to come third or lower.
Lap 19/71 Verstappen sets a news fastest lap and he’s up to 16th - you’ve got to laugh - but then Leclerc goes quicker.
Lap 18/71 Ferrari tell their drivers that Hamilton is indeed on a one-stop strategy.
Lap 17/71 So let’s have a rundown:
1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3 Bottas
4. Leclerc
5 Albon
6. Perez
7. Ricciardo
8. Hulkenberg
9. Stroll
10 Giovinazzi
11 Magnussen
12. Kvyat
13. Sainz
14. Kubica
15. Gasly
16. Russell
17. Verstappen
18 Grosjean
19 Raikkonen
20 Norris
Lap 16/71 Leclerc pits - Ferrari are pursuing a two-stop strategy - shoving Hamilton up to second. Will he try and stop just once?
Lap 15/71 Albon can’t handle the pace so pits, Hamilton is up to fourth, and Albon comes out behind Sainz, in sixth.
Lap 14/71 Norris is back out as Hamilton moves nearer to Albon. If Bottas stays fifth, he needs to win.
Lap 13/71 Norris leaves the pit lane with his front left not properly attached! He can’t reverse, so his mates shove him back - he’s not out of the race, but is being welcomed to Lastville. Population: You.
Lap 12/71 Still Hamilton sits in. As things stand, he won’t clinch the championship tonight.
Lap 11/71 It’s odd that Hamilton hasn’t found a way past Albon; his team can’t see a problem with his car, but will obviously give it a proper shifty when he comes in
Lap 10/71 Local favorite, Sergio Perez, is moving through the field and the crowd are absolutely having it as he has Kvyat and goes eighth. Lovely stuff!
Updated
Lap 9/71 The top four are pretty close together now, separated by a second and change; the gap from Hamilton to Bottas is 6.614s.
Lap 8/71 We’ve settled. Verstappen is now 20th and last; unless he gets a full-blown safety car he’s not making it a Mexican hatty.
Lap 7/71 Leclerc leads Vettel by 1.3s or so as Hamilton sets a new fastest lap; he’s 1.3s or so behind Albon.
Lap 6/71 Hamilton is lapping fastest as Verstappen gets a puncture! He was furious from the off - he must be running on steam power now. Meanwhile, Bottas sees off Nozzer.
Lap 5/71 Look at that! Verstappen takes out Bottas on a short straight - you’d never expect to see that - but then Bottas takes him right back out!
Lap 4/71 Time’s up. No sooner do we see Hamilton closing on Sainz then he passes him. Meanwhile Bottas attacks Norris, which is a bit snide if you ask me.
Updated
Lap 3/71 We’re back away and Leclerc leads by 1.655. I guess it’ll be tricky for Vettel to get by him, and though others might be able to, they’ll have to get at him first. Meanwhile, Verstappen, in eighth, is battling Bottas, in seventh. the difference is 0.005.
Lap 2/71 Gosh, so much went on in that start - Vettel tickled Leclerc too.
Lap 1/71 Hamilton and Verstappen got tangled together I think; and Vettel forced Hamilton over to the grass, which is how he came into contact with Verstappen. Anyway, the virtual safety car is out...
Updated
Lap 1/71 Hamilton is down into fifth and Verstappen is nowhere! Leclarc leads from Vettel from Albon from Sainz from Hamilton! Verstappen is eighth! Phew!
Updated
Lap 1/71 And off we go! The front four all get away well, and Hamilton and Verstappen are on the grass!
Only Monaco is shorter than the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, so we’ve got 71 laps of race. I quite fancy Verstappen here.
Off they go on parade. The top six are all on mediums.
Twenty-one million people live in Mexico City, that is outrageous. By way of comparison, London has 8.9 million. Pathetic.
Oh gosh, Button has grey trainers on to match his grey skin-tights. Strength and comfort at this difficult time.
I love how little the drivers want to talk to the telly. Premier League managers could learn a lot from them.
Jenson Button is wearing extremely tight trousers - I hope the blood flow is ok. Meanwhile, Valteri Bottas says he feels good.
Verstappen says it’s a long race with a lot of opportunities. He doesn’t quite use words that begin with eff and off to get the mic out of his coupon.
Anthem time...
Leclerc, in pole, says that the overnight rain doesn’t seem to have changed the track. He reckons it’ll be hard to keep his first place and was very happy with his second before he was upgraded.
Alex Albon says it’s not just about looking in front but making sure to keep the McLaren’s behind at bay.
“If the situation at Williams doesn’t improve next season – and I can’t see it doing so,” emails Luke Forrester, “I’m afraid to say – do you think there’s a chance the team might fold in a year or two? They’re so far behind the rest of the pack that it surely can’t be tenable to keep going for too much longer. I’d hate to see it happen, though.”
It’s possible I guess, but probably depends on how much they think they can make versus how much they have to spend.
Aaaaand here’s Tiesto. He’s supporting Veratappen, which reminds me how much I love it when sportsmen learn sporting phrases in not their other tongue - Michael van Gerwen always refers to Raymond van Barneveld as “My fellow countryman”.
Time for Martin Brundle to run about the grid trying to cajole people who don’t want to talk to him to talk to him.
“Where does Lewis Hamilton stand?” asks Asad Butt. “It’s got to be somewhere near the top. He’s very near to being the most successful driver ever and his longevity cannot be taken for granted. I’d add Daley Thompson and Mo Farah to the list and would hope that Dina Asher-Smith makes a future appearance.”
Yes, all that sounds fair. Thompson whistling the national anthem stands out as a moment from my childhood but as an adult I can’t get my head around his infamous and awful t-shirt.
Get yourselves in the mood by reading Giles Richards’ primer.
Oh yeah, in answer to my own question, I forgot to add Jet and Shadow.
Updated
I’ve just learnt that Tiesto will shortly be playing. I guess the plan is to warm up people’s eardrums for the noise of the race.
“It’s kinda depressing to see the grid for the race following teams so much,” emails Tom Smith. “Machine vs man balance all wrong...”
I wondered about that while typing it out. I guess you’d argue that teams follow the talent, and Verstappen would’ve been in poll but for an oversight. But yes.
A question: where does Lewis Hamilton stand in the all-time list of British sportfolk? Others who are up there: Andy Murray, Bobby Charlton, Kelly Holmes, Denise Lewis, Jess Ennis, Chris Hoy, Steve Redgrave, Ian Botham. I’m sure I’ve missed some.
Lewis Hamilton will start from P3 on Sunday, with Valtteri Bottas in P6
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2019
Reminder: Hamilton must outscore his team mate by 14 points if he is to seal a sixth world title at the #MexicoGP 🏆#F1 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/b4TUpQto3Z
Starting grid
- Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Vettel (Ferrari)
- Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Albon (Red Bull)
- Bottas (Mercedes)
- Sainz Jr (McLaren)
- Norris (McLaren)
- Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
- Gasly (Toro Rosso)
- Perez (Racing Point)
- Hulkenberg (Renault)
- Ricciardo (Renault)
- Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
- Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
- Stroll (Racing Point)
- Magnussen (Haas)
- Grosjean (Haas)
- Russell (Williams)
- Kubica (Williams)
Preamble
Here we go again! Lewis Hamilton will now attempt to clinch his sixth driver world championship, which will take him above Juan Manuel Fangio in the all-time standings and alone in second place behind Michael Schumacher, who has seven. Increasingly, it’s looking like when, not if, Hamilton supplants him as the greatest of all-time – and that’s before we factor in him saving the planet.
Fourteen points more than Valtteri Bottas will do it, giving him a lead of 78 points with three races to go – what a victory lap that would be. He starts today’s race on the second row of the grid, but ahead of his Mercedes team-mate, and will fancy himself to, at the very least, hang on to third. This circuit doesn’t especially suit his car – the long straights suit the Ferraris in front of him, and Max Verstappen, behind him, has won the last two races here. But Hamilton is a better driver than all of them, so resolving matters today is well within the ambit of his talent. Here we go again!
Flag: 7.10pm GMT
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