Mexico – Race: Hamilton, Strategy Champion!

If the rain somewhat disrupted the beginning of the weekend, it’s in very good weather conditions and with high temperatures that the start of the Mexican Grand Prix is given.

After Max Verstappen’s penalty yesterday, which places him 4th after setting the fastest qualifying time, it is the two Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, who start from the front row.

A red-hot start

The start is lively in the front positions. Leclerc gets off to a perfect start, but Vettel, on the dirty side, gets overtaken by Lewis Hamilton. The German squeezes the Mercedes, which is left vulnerable to Max Verstappen. The two men make contact and lose ground.

At turn 6, Vettel harmlessly harpoons Leclerc, who missed his curve entry. The Virtual Safety Car is deployed before the end of the lap to clear some debris before disappearing by the 3rd lap. On the restart, Leclerc leads the race ahead of Vettel, Alexander Albon, Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, Lando Norris, Bottas, Verstappen, Danill Kvyat, and Pierre Gasly.

A puncture for Max Verstappen

In the 5th lap, Max Verstappen has to pit after a puncture penalized the Dutchman following a very aggressive move on Bottas in the stadium. He switches to hard tires to perhaps attempt to finish the Grand Prix without another pit stop.

Tire strategies begin to play their role before the 10th lap. The McLarens, on Soft tires, quickly yield to the Mercedes on Medium tires. Lando Norris stops at the end of the 12th lap but things go poorly for the Brit, who rejoins with a loose wheel and has to stop at the end of the pit lane. He is brought back by his mechanics to his spot to finally set off again but with a lap down…

First pit stops and different strategies

Alex Albon is the first leader to stop at the end of the 14th lap, followed a lap later by Charles Leclerc. Both men put on Medium tires again and will therefore need to make a second stop. Vettel and the two Mercedes decide to extend their first stint.

Hamilton stops on lap 24 to switch to the hardest tires. Ferrari’s plans are slightly disrupted as the Scuderia decides to extend Vettel’s stint by a few more laps to avoid the undercut from Mercedes and Hamilton. The strategic game is set between the Reds and the Grays.

Bottas finally makes his first stop on lap 37, followed a lap later by Vettel. The German maintains his lead over the Finn but leaves the top two positions to Charles Leclerc, on a two-stop strategy, and Lewis Hamilton, who must bring his set of Hard tires to the end of the race. Alex Albon, provisionally 3rd with 30 laps remaining, must also make a second stop.

Daniel Ricciardo, 6th, is ahead of Verstappen, local star Sergio Pérez, Kvyat, and Nico Hülkenberg who complete the Top 10 after 40 laps of the race.

The two Renaults in the points

Charles Leclerc makes his second stop on the 43rd lap but it takes a long time, causing the Monegasque driver to lose a lot of time. He comes out in 5th place, more than 10 seconds behind Bottas who should not have to stop again. Adding to the bad luck for the Ferrari driver, he is also on Hard tires, just like his closest Finnish rival.

After 50 laps, Daniel Ricciardo finally stops his Renault to change tires and switch to Mediums. It’s a bold gamble for the brand with the diamond, but it could pay off at the end of the race thanks to the impressive pace of the Australian in his first long stint. He comes out in 8th position, ahead of his teammate.

15 laps to go, the top 4, Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, and Leclerc, are within 8 seconds of each other. Daniel Ricciardo puts on a show trying to overtake Pérez. The Renault driver locks up his wheels, goes onto the grass, and slides while re-accelerating, providing spectacular images for the spectators.

After a breathless finale that eventually neutralized everyone, Lewis Hamilton clinches an unexpected victory for Mercedes, which, thanks to an aggressive strategy, places both its drivers on the podium while Vettel, in 2nd, and Leclerc, in 4th, still fail to capitalize on their excellent qualifying performances.

Latest twist in an otherwise rather calm race, Daniil Kvyat sends Nico Hülkenberg into the wall in the last corner. The incident was reviewed by the stewards after the race and the Russian receives a 10-second penalty, dropping him out of the Top 10.

The race standings: