Nico Rosberg answered his critics with a dominant victory at the Mexican Grand Prix, leading home his team-mate and new champion Lewis Hamilton.
The pole-sitter resisted the challenge from Hamilton at the start and controlled the race throughout, despite a late safety car period which cancelled out Rosberg’s lead to record his fourth win of the season and 12th of his Formula 1 career.
As for new 2005 world champion Hamilton crossed the finishing line second for his 15th podium in 17 races this season with Valtteri Bottas completing the top three.
Such was the pace of the Silver Arrows that they were able to pit for a second time before the safety car came out and still rejoin in front of the rest of the field.
Hamilton questioned the team’s decision to bring him in, as he felt his tyres were in good shape, but Mercedes insisted he had to pit for safety reasons, and he eventually relented.
The result means Rosberg reclaims second in the drivers’ standings after Sebastian Vettel crashed out.
This was a nightmare race for Sebastian Vettel. He started third but collided with his ex-Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner and picked up a puncture.
The four-time champion complained about Ricciardo’s driving on team radio but though the stewards investigated the incident, they deemed no further action was necessary.
Vettel recovered to the pits but he had a messy Mexican Grand Prix, spinning at the esses and then crashing out of the race at the same spot when the rear end of the car got away from him – bringing out the safety car.
There was more drama for the Scuderia when Kimi Raikkonen collided with Valtteri Bottas for the second time in three races following their last-lap clash in Sochi.
The Finns went side-by-side into Turn 4 with the Williams front-left hitting Raikkonen’s right-rear and breaking the Ferrari’s suspension.
Raikkonen retired instantly, signalling Ferrari’s first double retirement since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.
Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat finished fourth, after losing a place to Bottas on the restart, while Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa completed the top six.
Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, one position ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez, who received rapturous cheers throughout the race and was the only driver who managed to only make one pit-stop.
Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean completed the top ten.
Pastor Maldonado missed out on his fourth consecutive points finish in P11, with Marcus Ericsson, Carlos Sainz Jr, Jenson Button, Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens the other finishers.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso suffered a lack of power just after the start and was told by the team to retire the car at the end of the opening lap.
Shortly before the restart Button radioed his team to say the brakes on Felipe Nasr’s car were on fire and shortly after, the Sauber retired in the 55,000-seater stadium section, reporting his brakes were “finished”.
Mexican Grand Prix, race results after 71 laps:
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:42:35.038
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.954s
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +14.592s
4 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull-Renault +16.572s
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault +19.682s
6 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes +21.493s
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +25.860s
8 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes +34.343s
9 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Renault +35.229s
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Mercedes +37.934s
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes +38.538s
12 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari +40.180s
13 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso-Renault +48.772s
14 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda +49.214s
15 Alexander Rossi Marussia-Ferrari +2 laps
16 Will Stevens Marussia-Ferrari +2 laps
– Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari DNF
– Sebastian Vettel Ferrari DNF
– Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari DNF
– Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda DNF
Drivers’ standings:
1 Lewis Hamilton 345
1 Nico Rosberg 272
3 Sebastian Vettel 251
4 Valtteri Bottas 126
5 Kimi Raikkonen 123
6 Felipe Massa 117
7 Daniil Kvyat 88
8 Daniel Ricciardo 84
9 Sergio Perez 68
10 Max Verstappen 47
11 Romain Grosjean 45
12 Nico Hulkenberg 44
13 Felipe Nasr 27
14 Pastor Maldonado 26
15 Carlos Sainz 18
16 Jenson Button 16
17 Fernando Alonso 11
18 Marcus Ericsson 9
19 Roberto Merhi 0
20 Alexander Rossi 0
21 Will Stevens 0
22 Kevin Magnussen 0
Constructors’ standings:
1 Mercedes 617
2 Ferrari 374
3 Williams-Mercedes 243
4 Red Bull-Renault 172
5 Force India-Mercedes 112
6 Lotus-Mercedes 71
7 Toro Rosso-Renault 65
8 Sauber-Ferrari 36
9 McLaren-Honda 27
10 Marussia-Ferrari 0
Next race: Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos. November 13-15.
Williams driver Valtteri Bottas says there is no need for Kimi Raikkonen to talk after their crash during the Mexican Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the story.
Valtteri Bottas says there is no need for he and Kimi Raikkonen to talk following their second collision in three Formula 1 races during the Mexican Grand Prix.
The two Finns collided at Turn 5 when fighting for position, after Bottas had attacked Raikkonen around the outside of Turn 4.
Raikkonen then tried to turn in for the Turn 5 right-hander, but Bottas was still partly alongside and they made contact, putting the Ferrari driver out of the race with suspension damage.
In Russia the pair collided when fighting over third place on the final lap, with Raikkonen the one trying to make a pass on that occasion.
“It’s a shame it had to end like that, but that’s racing,” said Bottas.
“It was big contact, but it was just unlucky that we got together again.
“There is not anything to speak about for me, we were racing hard obviously.”
Bottas believes there was enough space through the tight left-right sequence for two cars to get through side-by-side.
“Normally what I’m used to in those situations is that there is enough space for two cars when you go into a chicane,” he added.
“Of course, I’m not going to back off, I’m fighting for positions.
“I thought it was a decent possibility to get through but it ended up like this.
“There was just no room. I was on the inside and we touched, but I had no space to go [into].”
Bottas took third place from Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat after a late-race restart, and he praised Williams for choosing the harder tyre while Kvyat was put on the softer compound.
“It was a really good call from the team – the medium is a low-range tyre, and it seemed to work,” he said.
“I saw Daniil sliding it in the last corner and I managed to get close enough and get through.
“It was a really good race, and we did a great job, especially with the strategy.”
Finnish Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas turned the tables on compatriot Kimi Raikkonen at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday when the pair collided for the second time in three race
“That is what you call payback,” former F1 driver David Coulthard commented on the BBC after Ferrari’s Raikkonen retired with shattered suspension while Bottas raced on in his Williams.
In last month’s Russian Grand Prix, Raikkonen shunted Bottas into the barriers on the last lap while trying to pass to secure third place.
The time penalty Raikkonen collected for that move demoted him to eighth after the race and allowed Mercedes to retain their constructor’s title. It also handed Mexican Sergio Perez his first podium finish of the year with Force India.
In Mexico, it was Bottas who was trying to overtake Raikkonen on the inside at turn four on lap 22 when his front left tyre and Raikkonen’s rear right tangled. The Ferrari driver was bounced out with suspension damage.
The stewards investigated and decided to take no further action.
“All OK with the car?” asked Bottas over the team radio as he continued on his way. “Looks good. He just cut you up and left you no space,” was the reply.
Raikkonen’s race had been troubled before the start, when he was demoted to the back row with a 35-place penalty for a change of gearbox and power unit elements.
Bottas had started in sixth place.
Source: Reuters
This was a disappointing race for Scuderia Ferrari with both champions out of the Mexican Grand Prix. For Sebastian Vettel, the four-time title winner has commented that he and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen let Ferrari down. Interview/article taken from Formula1.com:
The return of Mexico was a triumph for Formula One racing, but a disaster for Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen retired through damage, while Sebastian Vettel endured a series of set-backs, some self-inflicted, before ultimately ending his race in the wall. As the German admits, the pace was there – but the drivers couldn’t capitalise…
Q: Seb, a touch with Daniel Ricciardo, a spin, and then a crash which forced you to retire – everything that could go wrong seemed to for you today…
Sebastian Vettel: Well, it all started with my bad start. With the puncture, the consequence was that my race was already over. Of course you always try to bounce back but in trying to do so I made two mistakes – and the second one knocked me out.
Q: So you take the blame?
SV: Yes, I have already apologised…
Q: You have been slightly sick this weekend – was that a factor in your race?
SV: No, not at all. It was human error and not virus related!
Q: How long will it take you to recover?
SV: It was not a good day for us today. The car was good – just not the drivers. My guess is that we would have been able to put pressure on Mercedes, but it didn’t come to that point after my puncture.
Q: Nico Rosberg winning the race, and you retiring, means that P2 in the drivers’ championship is suddenly going to be very tough…
SV: Yes, that is pretty sad to say! Well these things happen. We have gone very far since the start of the season so not everything can work out like you want. From the performance that we’ve shown all season long though it is clear that we will be there next year to fight for the titles.
Q: It might have been a difficult race for you, but it was a big day for Formula One – packed grandstands, an unbelievable atmosphere…
SV: I remember this kind of scenario when I was going to a race with my dad when I was a kid. It was a bit like travelling back in time. That makes it all the more sad that Ferrari didn’t show their true colours here.
As Nico Rosberg claimed the Mexican Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he had eyed victory himself but had to make do with second place.
Lewis Hamilton insists he was still pushing for victory at the Mexican Grand Prix despite having the Formula One title secured.
The Brit finished runner-up to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg on Sunday, seeing the German return to second in the drivers’ championship.
Hamilton said he was still trying to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where he finished almost two seconds behind.
“I was pushing the whole way it’s just that you can’t follow,” he told a news conference.
“Soon as I’d get four, five, a few car lengths behind, just to lose the aero, and he had perfect aero so it was impossible to get close enough but I had good pace.
“But as soon as you get closer and closer and closer you lose all your downforce.”
Hamilton, whose lead atop the championship is 73 points, said he was happy with how the track played.
The 30-year-old had no problems with his brakes or engine temperatures.
“It was fairly easy, it was fairly easy,” Hamilton said.
“There was not really much degradation on tyres, if any, and the brakes, yeah, you just have to do a little bit of lifting and coasting but it’s no different to anywhere else.”
Source: Eurosport