“I never gave up. It was not the (type of) race I wanted. I kept going right until the end. I just wanted to lift it up to my family, and God and my team.” (Hamilton)
 
formula one car and racing helmet with mexican flag

Mexico GP Race Results 2017

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5. Esteban Ocon (Force India)
6. Lance Stroll (Williams)
7. Sergio Perez (Force India)
8. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
10. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
More on the F1 teams of 2017
 

Can Lewis equal Michael Schumacher`s Record

He has a way to go to equal Michael Schumacher, but today Lewis Hamilton officially became the most successful British driver in Formula One history, as he eclipsed Jackie Stewart’s record of 3 world championship wins.
 
Today Hamilton sits with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost with 4 world titles. Good company indeed. Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Schumacher are ahead, and at the age of 32 Hamilton still has time to challenge them. The same could be said of Vettel at just 30. Hopefully they can go head-to-head for many seasons to come.
 
This huge moment in Hamilton’s career was completed in a rather ‘relaxed’ fashion as he finished 9th. Though 9th was all he needed to win the championship – even if Vettel had finished 2nd. He made sure that he got there. During the radio exchange between Hamilton and Mercedes with 15 laps to go: “What position do I need?” told that Vettel needed 2nd – “Is that possible?” “Negative” was the reply.
 
Vettel, once he had made it to 4th place, asked how far ahead teammate Raikkonen was, when told 26 seconds – “Mamma mia, I think that is a bit too much” was his reply.
 
The decisive and dominant race to finish champion, evaporated when Hamilton suffered a puncture after colliding with Vettel on the 1st lap. Vettel’s front wing was broken, and this incident proved more punishing for the Ferrari driver – who needed to finish the race in 1st or 2nd place (with Hamilton lower than 5th and 9th respectively) to keep his championship hopes alive.
 

Lewis is in no Hurray

 
This collision put them both at the back as they went to the pits for repairs; with Vettel hot-footing it up the grid (his only option), Hamilton seemed in no hurry after his hopes of ‘winning in style’ had been thwarted. But his race picked up, when the virtual safety car came out for Brendon Hartley’s car fire on Lap 31 and he pitted for super-soft tyres. They gave him greater pace and allowed him to start making up some ground. In the closing laps, he and Alonso treated the crowd to a terrific battle, with Hamilton eventually emerging as the victor. A rare and well-earned point for the Spaniard.
 
Verstappen dominated the race from the first corner after taking the lead at Turn 2 – lightly clipping Vettel’s front wing as he did so. Partly involved in the Hamilton/Vettel collision melee, but escaping without damaging his own race, Verstappen has responded well to his disappointment from the US Grand Prix last weekend. While teammate Ricciardo retired for the second time in 2 races with engine failure.
 
So, the title race is over for this year. Ferrari will have been hoping that it had been closer in the end. Vettel will have been hoping that he could have won his 5th world championship. There is always next year…
 
“I don’t fear him (Hamilton). I like racing with him. I would have liked a little more this year. Overall they (Mercedes) were better.” (Vettel)
 
With Brazil and Abu Dhabi still to go, can we expect Hamilton to achieve the spectacular finish that he so desired in Mexico?