1) No love lost at the top
The drivers’ championship may be decided but relations are still frosty between the Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Their handshake after the race was so fast you needed a slow-motion replay to catch it. When Rosberg was asked about their relationship he refused to comment, which was a comment in itself. “You can see it from the outside,” he said. We sure can.
2) Ferrari need to raise their game
Ferrari still have a lot of work to do if they are going to give Mercedes some badly needed competition next year. They had their worst performance of the season in Mexico, with both their cars failing to make the finish for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix of 2006. Sebastian Vettel made a number of mistakes before crashing out, while Kimi Raikkonen bashed into Valtteri Bottas again. “During the course of this season we touched the sky – today we touched the bottom,” said the team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene.
3) More engine trouble for Red Bull
Red Bull might continue with Renault engines after all, as they are running out of options. Ferrari and Mercedes don’t want to give them their power units and although Honda would be happy to step in, that move has been blocked by McLaren. But, according to Motorsport.com, Red Bull may continue by using unbranded Renault engines next year, with power units rebadged with a different name or with no name at all. The team principal, Christian Horner, said: “At the moment we’re right on the limit to be at the first test [in Barcelona on 22 February].”
4) Kvyat looks the part
Things are looking up for Daniil Kvyat. He had a very impressive, near-podium drive in Mexico and then had his future guaranteed by the Red Bull team chief, Christian Horner, who said: “Daniil is doing a great job, so as long as we are here, he will be in the car next year. I think it was his best race this year. He was able to manage that gap and we were looking very solid for a podium.” Kvyat was fourth on Sunday, beating his highly rated team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying and in the race. The safety car ruined his strong chances of a podium.
5) Welcome return down Mexico way
Mexico is a great new venue for Formula One. Well, not that new – the sport has been here twice before – but the atmosphere, with great excitement among the packed stands – a 135,000 turnout after 23 years away – was in vivid contrast to some of the empty, white elephants of circuits we have in east Asia and the Middle East. Either that or the altitude and thin air – the place is 2,240m above sea level – was responsible for making everyone feel giddy. “I felt like a rock star,” said Rosberg after his triumph.
