2017 F1 Round 18 Mexican GP – Verstappen wins, Hamilton seals fourth world title

The 2017 Mexican Grand Prix ran over 71 laps at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Max Verstappen won in 1h36m26.552s, with Valtteri Bottas second, 19.678 seconds behind, and Kimi Räikkönen third. Although Lewis Hamilton finished only ninth, he secured his fourth drivers’ world championship with two races remaining.

The opening-lap battle shaped the race. Sebastian Vettel started from pole and fought side by side with Verstappen and Hamilton for the leading positions. Verstappen gained the advantage around Turn 2. Vettel’s front wing made contact with the Red Bull and then caught Hamilton’s right-rear tyre, causing a puncture on the Mercedes.

Vettel and Hamilton were both forced into early pit stops, with Ferrari replacing Vettel’s front wing, and the two title contenders dropped to the back. Verstappen maintained his pace, soon pulled away from Bottas and steadily controlled the race at the front.

Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso lost power, bringing out a virtual safety car, and several drivers took the opportunity to change tyres. Vettel switched to ultrasofts to continue his recovery, while Hamilton took supersofts. Their recoveries progressed at different rates, with Vettel returning to the points sooner.

Vettel eventually recovered to fourth but could neither threaten Räikkönen nor reach the second place he needed to keep his title hopes alive. Hamilton secured ninth after a fierce battle with Fernando Alonso, earning two points and taking his total to 333. Vettel had 277 points and could no longer overtake Hamilton even by winning the final two races.

Esteban Ocon finished fifth, Lance Stroll sixth, Sergio Pérez seventh, Kevin Magnussen eighth and Alonso tenth. Magnussen held off the cars behind to bring Haas four points. Williams earned eight points through Stroll’s strong finish, while home driver Pérez also finished in the points.

Carlos Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg, Hartley and Daniel Ricciardo retired with various mechanical or power-related problems, while Marcus Ericsson was affected by cooling trouble. Pierre Gasly, Pascal Wehrlein and Romain Grosjean completed the race in 13th, 14th and 15th respectively.

Verstappen took the third victory of his career, and Hamilton recovered from first-lap damage to achieve the result he needed for the championship. Red Bull pursued the race win at the front. The Mercedes driver earned enough points from further back to settle the title.