[arun_josie]

Formula 1 - The 2018 Mexican Grand Prix



Hamilton on the verge of becoming a 5 time champion



Track Layout



Track Data



Constructors standings



Drivers Championship standings


Tyre Selection

Some Key Points

• Hamilton on the verge of becoming a 5 time champion
• Fight for P3 in the championship points between Raikkonen and Bottas, just 4 points separating them
• P7-P11 in the championship pointsis still close.
• Based on Friday practice timing, Red Bull and Renault are showing very good pace. So, qualification will be very interesting.

[nair]

Wow! Daniel out of nowhere. He is my favourite personality on the grid(so bummed he is not in the Ferrari colours next year). I hope his car remains reliable for the entirety of the race. He deserves it after all the misfortunes this year.

Got to feel for Max, denied to be the youngest pole setter ever. But, he is gonna be a handful to Dan during the start. We know how last year's race went.

[sgiitk]

Great to see the Red Bulls populating the front row. Then we have the two old foxes Hamilton & Vettel behind them. I expect some fine jostling from this pair, and they may dispatch the Red Bulls promptly. In general the Prancing Horse has been the best starter.

[jpcoolguy]

Happy for the Honey Badger and like his boss Horner observed, this is indeed out of nowhere. However, he must be wary of Max in the second place after what happened last year. Also, a mighty lap from Hamilton as well to beat Vettel for 3rd place.

Hope Daniel able to catch a break and a fabulous win today.

[ajmat]

I hope we see a shoeey on the podium. Although a Hamo fan, I like Riccardio's pleasant humour and the way he despatched the leaders in Shanghai.

My guess is that Lewis will focus on preservation. He will initially aim to get a leading start but if unsuccessful, he will sit back and let the Red Bulls joust. All depends on Vettels mood. If Bottas, gets in between them both, it will be a cakewalk. He would want to be somewhere on the podium to celebrate the WC

[jpcoolguy]

Very good win by Max in the end and another retirement for the other RBR. Kimi is the only driver to do 1 stop in the race and he has lasted that SuperSoft tyres for a whopping 52 laps in a race where 3 pit stops have been done.

And finally, Congratulations to Lewis on winning the 5th Driver's Championship, thoroughly deserving!!! Would have been great if he was on Podium.

[TSIboy]

What an year for Lewis it is! Might not be the way he'd have liked to wrap things up but still... Five world championships and only bettered by Michael Schumacher, he is definitely on the way to being the all time greatest.
Excellent drive from Verstappen stealing the P1 from Daniel at the start itself. Ferrari gained some points over Mercedes for their constructors cup with Vettel and Kimi in P2 & P3. Let's hope next year brings a better fight!

Some pictures for the LH fans

[deetjohn]

Congratulations Lewis! This is indeed a great achievement.

The title was really in a balance till Hockenheim. And Vettel screwed it up by spinning and crashing from the lead. Lewis inherited the points lead thereafter and hasn't looked back since then. On the other hand, Vettel hasn't stopped spinning from then on wards. That crash really broke Vettel.

Let's wait and see what's in store for us next year!

[ajmat]

Shame about Riccardio. I did not stay awake for this race.

Congrats to Max and Lewis for their achievements. I doubt Lewis will get his next WC win very easily if Max's winning streak is coming into play

[GTO]

Congratulations to Lewis and all the Hamilton fans out there. 5 world championships means he is in rarefied air now...in the company of greatness. Even in terms of race wins, I think he's going to overtake Schumacher.

Best part is, Lewis is in top form, so is Mercedes and they have stability in terms of the team & finances. I think Mercedes is going to be an unstoppable force in the short to mid-term and Lewis has at least another championship or two (or 3???) left in him.

[RM Motorsports]

2018 Mexican Grand Prix: Race Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-VK12FZhs

[Fullrevs]

Congratulations to LH44! Well deserved title! He may not have liked the way he won the title at Mexico but law of averages affects everyone. No doubt that it would have been unfair to him had he had a string of car failures and if Vettel sneaked it in Abu Dhabi. It just wouldn't be deserving enough for Ferrari or Vettel.

The WCC has a bit of a battle left in it, not great chances for Ferrari but anything is possible in the sport. Great gesture by Vettel by going to the Mercedez pit offices and personally shaking everyones hand in the office. Was quite evident he was gutted post race. These drivers put in so much for these 20-21 races, its only natural a few tears roll down their cheeks.

Max was in supreme control last evening. I don't think bolting on a Honda power plant will automatically "UP" his chances next year. Towards the end of the season Honda have been having a few issues with Toro Rosso. They've even had to revert back to the old spec. Red Bull however brought a lot of glory for Renault. So they know a thing or two of working in harmony with their engine suppliers.

Really sad for Daniel to go out like that. It just seems like Horner and gang aren't giving him the car that Verstappen drives. Pretty tough orders by the team in not allowing Ricciardo to test for Renault during the winter tests this year. It's happened before though, Ron Dennis would do this to all his star drivers leaving the team. I guess that's what contracts are for!

A name not mentioned enough was Leclerc and his star drive. His defence of Perez was brilliant in what I would term as inferior machinery compared to the Force India. That kid is going to be a star next year provided Ferrari don't bog him down with a #2 tag on his forehead.

Cant wait for Brazil!! Can watch the race without any tensions on the WDC.

[quickfox11]

Hamilton achieved the inevitable!! Everyone had their mindset clear from the beginning. There were no spins during first few turns after grid start which showed how cautious Hamilton and Vettel (finally!) were. Felt bad for Ricciardo and also for crowd fav 'Checo', who was showing strong grit to finish in top 10!

[shibujp]

A bittersweet race for Red Bull. While Verstappen drove a well controlled, sublime race, Daniel Riccardo faded into yet another DNF for no fault of his. All the while promising a fierce fight for the second row on the podium. Typical Daniel, fades into the lower echelons of the grid at the start and then somehow manages to claw back into a position that is usually ahead of where he started. Starting alongside Verstappen was always going to be tough given Verstappen's capability to launch himself very well off the start of the grid. And that coupled with one of the longest straights in the season. Both Hamilton and Verstappen got the jump on him and so did Vettel. Vettel was noticeably cautious in the first couple of corners, very clearly not wanting to get tangled up with any of the other cars. It would be interesting to see how Riccardo performs alongside the Hulk next year.

After a great start it all seemed to go haywire for Hamilton and Mercedes. The confusion around tyres almost killed their race. A well deserved championship, to the better team this year. In the end all the times that Bottas played wingman and gave up spots for Hamilton did come in handy. I have rarely seen a championship since I started watching F1 where the number 2 driver was so frequently put into play to support the WDC. Even in Schumacher's case it used to be one or two races every season I feel. If not the championship would still be alive notwithstanding the missteps at Ferrari. But as a Ferrari fan, I am not disappointed at all, given that Ferrari really took the fight to Mercedes. Mercedes has been operating at the top of their game for quite a few years now and given a strong racing package, it is often the little things that count. Ferrari have been in a flux in terms of leadership and have seen to many changes in personnel. This year though with the arrival of Arrivabene they have put together a nucleus of a good team and the morale is good as well. They need to build on this. There are rumors of Arrivabene leaving and I think that would be a wrong step at this juncture. They need this momentum to continue for a couple of years at least if they desire at least a few years of dominance. Yes, Vettel did make mistakes but it is also the first time he had such a competitive package since he arrived at Ferrari. I am yet to see an Red Bull driver be successful in other teams primarily because I think the mechanical and aerodynamic package of the RB chassis really flatters the capability of drivers. While it illustrates the genius of Adrian Newey it also seems that when ex-RB drivers try the same moves in other cars, they end up overcooking it. A few of the moves that Vettel came to grief executing in the Ferrari, would have been pulled off in the Reb Bull. That is where drivers like Alonso and Lewis excel, I feel, having honed their skills on packages that did not aid them as much, demanding to be treated with respect. Now with Sebastian Vettel the only Red Bull driver who migrated to a top flight team, it is just my perspective at this point.I will be watching Daniel Riccardo's form in the Renault. With Leclerc in the red team next year I hope Ferrari carries on from where it left off this year.

That said, Ferrari did salvage a very good result this weekend with both cars on the podium. Raikkonen managed to get the one stop strategy to work, helped by the retirement of Riccardo and the travails of the two Silver cars. Would be good to see both the Ferraris on the podium in the last two races. While the Constructors trophy is more or less sealed unless something dramatic happens to the Mercs, it would be a good wrap up as Ferrari head into the development of next year's car.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[HKap]

It's disturbing that the team that gets a head start with the new engine regulations continues dominating till new engine rules come into effect. We saw that with Red Bull with the previous engine and are now seeing the same with Mercedes dominating the V6 hybrid era. I miss the days when it was always two or three teams fighting at the top almost every year. The least the FIA can do is allow refueling. They can have a limit on the total amount of fuel used during the race but lets spice things up a bit. Who knows what a Red Bull can achieve if they are allowed to shed some kilos of fuel to compensate for the lack of BHP. Didn't we all love it when Ross Brawn would have Michael Schumacher bang in 20 qualifying laps to open up enough of an advantage to accommodate an extra pit stop?

I'm not sure how refueling would add to "racing costs". They still have a fuel tanks and fuel dispensers anyway.