Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton secured the drivers championship after he and rival Sebastian Vettel clashed on the opening lap.
Vettel collided with Hamilton at turn three at the start, leaving both cars damaged and forcing them both to pit. Vettel’s fourth place finish was enough for Hamilton to secure his fourth world championship.
In a dramatic start, Vettel led away but came under immediate pressure at turn one from Max Verstappen. Verstappen took the outside of turn one, which became the inside of turn two, taking the lead as Vettel ran wide and was passed by Hamilton.
Vettel then clipped the right-rear tyre of Hamilton’s Mercedes exiting turn three, causing an immediate puncture for Hamilton and front wing damage on the Ferrari.
Both championship rivals were forced to pit on the opening lap and resumed at the rear of the field, with Verstappen assuming the lead from Bottas and Esteban Ocon’s Force India.
Vettel was able to make good progress back through the field, but Hamilton struggled by comparison to make on the cars ahead, dropping considerable time for Vettel and being lapped by Verstappen on lap 22.
Brendon Hartley was forced out with an engine failure on lap 32, resulting in a Virtual Safety Car period that which Hamilton and Vettel both took advantage to switch to new tyres.
Vettel was able to make his way up to fourth place, behind team mate Kimi Raikkonen, but it was not enough to prevent Lewis Hamilton from being confirmed as the 2017 Formula One world champion.
Verstappen took the chequered flag to claim his second win of the season, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen in third.
Esteban Ocon took fifth for Force India, ahead of Lance Stroll’s Williams in sixth and Sergio Perez in seventh. Kevin Magnussen finished eighth for Haas with Hamilton ninth and Fernando Alonso taking the final point for McLaren in tenth.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
29th October 2017, 20:44
After a fourth Hamilton WC and another imperious Verstappen performance, forgive me for asking a question.
Without wanting to sound like Vettel, ‘why do we drive here if the cars and power units can’t take it’, honestly!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th October 2017, 20:58
To me what sticks out is the prophecy. Yesterday I said Max should have gotten a penalty and that he was most likely to win, what it is now a contentious win. RB is now favourite for 2018, the new pu on Max is really quick, Lewis might be celebrating his last title. Seb should have been penalized for hitting Lewis and Seb as it happened, didn’t deserve any penalty for his Massa overtake.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
29th October 2017, 21:07
This is so bad. And you’re saying the same thing on another post, so I might as well respond on one. Neither incident was a penalty by a mile. To make this contentious without it actually being contentious makes no sense.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
30th October 2017, 4:33
@hahostolze @macleod Saturday, Max blocked Bottas, one penalty, Max might’ve won anyway, his pace in practice proves that. Seb after getting hit by Max’s rear tyre then ploughed into Hamilton’s tyre, that one is debatable, I’d penalize Seb.
@anilsk2013 RB are the best at development, they are the most competent racing team and they have the best driver line-up, and now the new Renault PU (according to some figures, .2 quicker than the old Spec), is that last bit of performance they needed to be in contention.
peter
30th October 2017, 7:20
Seb getting hit by Max’ rear tire?
LOL!
MacLeod (@macleod)
29th October 2017, 21:19
This is an win on merrit plain simple! talks of penaulties were in Austin not here in Mexico.
Max was really the fastest on track today question was more if his engine would fail…
Anil Sanagavarapu (@anilsk2013)
30th October 2017, 0:13
RB is now favorite for 2018 In the race that I saw today, most Renault powered cars failed to finish. It could just easily have been both RBRs as DNF instead of just the one DNF….Renault cars were on auto russian roulette.
Ross
30th October 2017, 1:39
I think RB will be better next year than this, hopefully it will be a good tussle between the teams… But VER didn’t actually have to race anyone today bar for the first corner. 3 Renault engines expired during the race, how many during practise? Renault still have away to go, and while track position is still so valuable not being able to mix it with Merc & Ferrari on a regular Saturday will hamper RB in a true title bid.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
30th October 2017, 10:58
@hahostolze isn’t it plan to further reduce the number of engines next year? It will become more important to manage those properly than to exploit as much as possible out of the car.
Introduce engines at right track for overtaking, instead of fuel saving it will be even more engine saving, without counting the extra penalties… Why bother with qualification anymore?
All teams should agree to introduce a new engine at a given track, every driver has the same penalty to show what nonsense this has become.
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 20:47
‘OMG! Hulkenberg’s in 4th!! Maybe this is a chance to finally get that pod…
Oh. Nope. Something completely out of his control has stopped him. Again. Yay.’
In other news, Verstappen is arguably the best driver in the sport right now. Absolutely incredible how good this kid is.
Vettel super drive as well. And those who’ve seen the image of him turning left into Hamilton need to watch the whole video, as he’s just catching the oversteer under traction, like all drivers do.
Hamilton did very poorly. Definitely not the race he’d have wanted to win the title on… Although that battle at the end with Alonso was marvellous (albeit we knew what the outcome would be, but still).
Blazzz
29th October 2017, 20:57
This is of course, subjective.
VERS is still a rough diamond at best with raw talent. He wouldn’t be winning the championship in the Merc with some of the silly mistakes he makes tangling unnecessarily with others.
I see even in Hamilton’s moment of glory- you still find something to nitpick about. At least you’re consistent with that.
Markos
29th October 2017, 21:01
You’re in for a tough decade I’m afraid…
Blazzz
29th October 2017, 21:08
Mind lending me your crystal ball?
Loen (@loen)
29th October 2017, 21:39
Blazzz….to make remarks about a young, newish driver
being ‘raw talent’ and even worse ‘rough diamond’ is
to be expected of anyone new to F1…but I’m assuming
you’ve been around for a while. And if that is true, how
can you possibly use such language about a driver who
accomplished the sort of things Verstappen did almost
a year ago at Interlagos in torrential conditions. Where
he passed so many highly experienced F1 drivers like
they were twelve year olds. And that has been far from
the only example of this drivers astonishing abilities.
Most F1 fans who aren’t hopelessly biased recognise
pure genius for what it is. Yes, he’s very young and still
has much to learn. But he has the skills and temperament
of a highly experienced thirty-year-old, so you better get
used to watching him beat practically everyone else in F1.
And…..for the record, I am no particular fan of Verstappen.
There are other drivers who have my total support, but
this guy is something else and we’d all better get used to
the idea….fast.
Blazzz
30th October 2017, 11:15
@ Loen I’ll explain my logic. VERS is blisteringly quick and obviously has talent. But there are situations he finds himself in that he could avoid. Like tangling with Massa in Monza for example. Or even with his victory in Malaysia- when he was lapping the squabbling backmarkers. Moments after passing them, they crashed together. Could have easily ended up being tangled in that and he loses the win. Or even in Canada this year where he and VET made contact. Could have ended his race right there. Or how about Hungary when he took out his team mate forcing a defensive that just wasn’t on?
I am obviously focusing on his negatives here but I am not denying that he is a good driver.
VERS reminds me very much of Hamilton in his earlier years. Very aggressive and very mistake prone.
Simply put- VERS still has a lot of maturing to do- which isn’t surprising given he’s only 20 years old. But to claim “he is the best driver” at the moment when he hasn’t passed so many tests- like the pressure of an F1 championship battle, or World Champion team mates is quite simply a farce.
You even made my point for me but you seem to have an issue with the logic of my comment. Perhaps now that I have articulated it more we are in agreement?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th October 2017, 21:08
Agreed Blazzz, we can’t forget that half of his retirements were his own undoing and also like this weekend there were near misses. For his future I just hope that the stewards have the strength of containing the favouritism, because about last weekend, Max is totally wrong, he cut a corner, he didn’t run wide he straight lined a corner.
erikje
29th October 2017, 21:54
It’s a pity when a straight solid win is stained with old news that is at least very subjective to say the least.
And, no his retirements were for the most part technical issues and struggles with Bottas to name one. Only his Hongary action was stupid and his one mistake this season.
David (@nvherman)
29th October 2017, 22:39
I’m really not sure why you bother watching Formula 1 @peartree, you seem to have absolutely no idea.
Max is the current future, there’s no one currently racing who could live with him in the same car, except possibly Alonso.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
30th October 2017, 4:21
@nvherman “bother” it’s no bother to me, I watch f1 since I can remember. Max is the present, he has been since his debut, since that FP1 in Suzuka back in 2013, or even before when he and Ocon were racing in f3, that’s what got him on RB’s track. Anyway there’s some reality checks to make, he blocked Bottas he shouldn’t have started from the front row, and it’s not like that would’ve kept him from winning, considering his pace from Fp1 to Sunday he was the quickest, and he might have won, but the right way.
Moi
30th October 2017, 11:42
Can I just add that I love the phrase ‘the current future’ ? I made a note of it and I’m going to use it more often in conversation.
Simon Lotion
30th October 2017, 12:43
Penalising your favourite driver doesn’t automatically mean the stewards are disregarding the facts and engaging in favouritism. Accusing the stewards of favouritism every time they penalise your favourite driver, on the other hand, does automatically mean you’re disregarding the facts and engaging in favouritism.
Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
29th October 2017, 21:00
@hugh11
I’m intrigued to know your reasoning behind this. Care to elaborate?
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 21:10
I doubt he had damage, and he was stuck behind the likes of Sainz, Wehrlein and Alonso for quite a few laps, even when the car ahead didn’t have DRS, while Vettel was easily scything his way through the field. Also, after being lapped by Verstappen and Bottas, if he was driving well, he’d have easily been able to keep up with them, but he didn’t.
Will Jones
29th October 2017, 21:12
His diffuser, well a quarter of it wasn’t there on the right hand side, so he most certainly did have damage!
Blazzz
29th October 2017, 21:17
+1
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 21:21
Wasn’t watching to see that. My mistake if so. Still, would’ve expected him to do better. You can’t deny it wasn’t a poor race by his standards.
Will Jones
29th October 2017, 21:29
I’m not going to judge how good a race he had in the damaged car because I have no idea if he got every last iota of performance it had to give or if in Valtteri’s hands it would have been on the podium. I just try to enjoy the race for what it is, I watch Eastenders if I want some human drama
Blazzz
29th October 2017, 21:14
Haha. I’m watching Sky right now. Ted’s just shared a photo of Hamilton’s damaged diffuser. Half a piece is missing. It’s not like you gave Ham the benefit of the doubt did you. But that’s hardly surprising. Discuss :)
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 21:20
Well I wasn’t watching that, and I judged from the fact Vettel’s wing only made contact with his tyre. :)
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 21:24
No need to be snarky and arrogant! :)
Blazzz
30th October 2017, 11:18
@ Hugh- to be fair you make it very difficult given you don’t even try and hide your bias without considering some factual basis. You immediately thought Hamilton was just having a mediocre drive which is out of character- after an accident. I say my “snarky remarks” or “arrogance” as you put in this case was justified.
Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
29th October 2017, 21:17
@hugh11 It’s been confirmed with photo evidence he had damage on the right side of his diffuser.
There’s no denying Vettel cut through the field more effectively than Hamilton, but given their respective time lost from lap one, the damage Lewis was carrying and the widely known fact of Mercedes finding it more difficult than Ferrari behind traffic, I don’t think it’s fair to make a direct comparison between the way they both advanced through the field.
Not to take away from Seb though, he did put up a thrilling fight.
Ajaxn
29th October 2017, 21:43
After the puncture I think Hamilton intended to manage his tires and go for a one-stop. He only started to push after he remarked on the radio that his tires would not last. That’s when Mercedes went to plan b.
OOliver
30th October 2017, 8:18
We must remember that after their respective first lap pitstop, Hamilton was 24 seconds behind Vetted and carrying a damaged car.
Vettel rejoined the track and could immediately start racing the slower cars, Hamilton had to burn tyre life to get close to the cars ahead.
grat
29th October 2017, 23:46
That’s funny– everything you said tells me that either Hamilton suffered a pre-race concussion and forgot how to drive a race car quickly, or his car had damage.
Given we didn’t see Hamilton take a blow to the head, but we did see Vettel break off half his front wing in Hamilton’s rear tire, and that Hamilton had to drive 2+ miles back to the pits with a busted tire, it’s pretty much an absolute certainty that Hamilton’s car had significant damage after lap 1.
Aapje (@aapje)
29th October 2017, 21:00
Hamilton must have had damage to his car. I’m sure we’ll hear that later.
Alex McFarlane
29th October 2017, 21:12
Ted took a picture of Lewis’ diffuser, it was missing a chunk on the right hand side. So his car was probably missing a small but significant amount of downforce.
Will Jones
29th October 2017, 21:17
Diffusers don’t give downforce directly, but clear the air as quickly as possible. Damage to the diffuser affects all the downforce generated across the whole car, he would have had a high pressure “bubble” under his right hand side, affecting his grip too
Kgn11
29th October 2017, 23:32
That’s nonsense! The diffuser produces downforce
Will Jones
30th October 2017, 21:11
A diffuser on its own does not produce downforce, no matter what speed you blow air across it, unlike a wing. However, it increases the amount of downforce produced by every downforce producing component on the car, even the rear wing, so in that respect, sure it – to a layman, produces downforce.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
29th October 2017, 21:01
@hugh11 I’ve seen the replay, Vettel had plenty of room, if he can’t control his car he should be driving in karting despite his four titles IMO.
Aapje (@aapje)
29th October 2017, 21:04
@abdelilah
Vettel already had wing damage, which would have produced understeer.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
29th October 2017, 21:10
@aapje @abdelilah That’s Seb’s only excuse. This kid has the “Ricciardo” effect on Seb, he just can’t be seen racing around him, he loses everything.
Hugh (@hugh11)
29th October 2017, 21:14
Opposite lock, missing part of his front wing, and the rear end going walkabouts (which the driver can’t control).
JimG (@jimg)
30th October 2017, 10:58
@hugh11:
(Emphasis added)
I’m not a big fan of “what ifs”, but what if Vettel had, for the sake of argument, closed his throttle just a little instead of trying to carry on regardless? As I’ve been told in track day briefings, the throttle goes both ways.
Hugh (@hugh11)
30th October 2017, 14:04
True, but I’ve seen that Hamilton had to lift off slightly behind Verstappen, so Vettel would have thought Hamilton was going full throttle and there would have been space. Fine margins on lap 1 etc
JCost (@jcost)
30th October 2017, 7:45
Seb has been scrappy for a while now, on the other hand Max is looking more poised while keeping aggressive. If Red Bull keeps the pace and irons their reliability issues they will be fighting for WDC and WCC next year.
The Skeptic
29th October 2017, 21:02
Some days… I love F1. Hamilton’s move on Vettel on lap 1 was bold and audacious. It was good racing. He could have slipped into a safe third and bored us all to tears… but he went for it… and created a fascinating race when it didn’t work out.
The tension was excellent. Vettel charging, Hamilton (having lost much more time doing most of a lap on a flat tyre) struggling. Both drivers deserve to be recognised as being the greats that they are.
As for Verstappen… brilliant… he will dominate in the not too distant future, and will probably bring about Vettel and Hamilton’s retirement! I can only hope that Occon is a worthy challenger in future world championships!
David BR (@david-br)
29th October 2017, 21:07
Vettel again misjudged the aggression and lost his chance of second, bashing Verstappen and then Hamilton with a ‘Rosberg special’ on his back right tyre. Make it of you want, but again a lack of calm decision making that cost him and Ferrari the title.
GtisBetter (@)
29th October 2017, 23:01
To be fair, if there was a time to be aggresive, it was today. In front of hamilton, many points behind. He hit the kerbs, couldn’t control anymore. Can’t blame him for trying all or nothing.
grat
29th October 2017, 23:52
He was on pole, at a track where overtaking is difficult. Aggression was unnecessary.
Robbie (@robbie)
30th October 2017, 11:43
Vettel had nothing to lose in going for it, such was his high need for high points. Aggression is exactly what was needed particularly when Max got a tow on him and took him on the inside. Backing off and getting swallowed up by LH too, was never going to extend his WDC chances, slim as they were. The one who could afford to back off and stay out of it was LH, not that I would expect him to do that either. Pure racing incident and ridiculous for anyone to call this SV’s fault. Several seem to be doing so, with the luxury of hindsight of course.
Robbie (@robbie)
30th October 2017, 11:55
@david-br SV’s title hopes were extremely slim, and depended much more on an LH dnf than anything he was going to be able to do. I think it is a bit much to ask for ‘calm decision making’ at a frenzied start with Max throwing a wrench into SV’s start by taking him on the inside with a tow. At that point SV had one decision to make…go for it. Odds were already highly against him and all he knew was even a win or second place still depended on a rare LH or Mercedes falter. If anything it was LH that was in the more ‘calm’ mode and could have stayed out of that tussle, stayed healthy, and cruised to the WDC, leaving SV to the hard work that he had no choice but to do, especially upon witnessing Max take SV.
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2017, 14:21
Sure, I agree he had little to lose (which is why his collision with Hamilton was, well, ‘not unexpected’, let’s say, rather than deliberate). Hamilton I think started with the intention of keeping third and seeing how the race pace panned out, but when VET and VER tangled and space opened up, he had to go for the pass. As Wolff said, rightly, if you back off in those moments, worse can easily happen (others behind going for that gap etc.). And Hamilton didn’t do anything wrong. Vettel’s lack of control, for whatever reason, caught him out. And to be honest Verstappen got lucky that he picked up no damage.
Robbie (@robbie)
30th October 2017, 14:53
Vettel’s lack of control, ‘for whatever reason’ is obvious isn’t it? Max’s brilliant move and the contact between them. I get that backing off can get you rear ended, or swarmed, but I don’t know that it applies with what LH’s options were. Without ‘backing off’ he didn’t have to be as aggressive either, and he did end up having to back off of Max, which probably helped catch SV out as he was trying to come to terms with his out of shape car, post-Max, while trying to accelerate and not get swarmed himself. I’m not saying LH did anything wrong, as he could afford the risk, but he also had a lot more choices yesterday than SV had, so he could have been more mindful and a bit more ‘Prost-like’ too. But, like is often the case, LH couldn’t have known he was going to get hit either…he just increased his odds of it is all.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
29th October 2017, 20:50
Congratulations Lewis! Hopefully next season will be much tougher with the added competition of Red Bull and McLaren! Come on Red Bull, McLaren and Renault, let’s make the 2018 title battle even better with more contenders, so much so that we actually don’t end up having to talk about the Halo every weekend.
Fletcher LeGardy (@fsliv)
29th October 2017, 21:34
+1
Dom (@3dom)
29th October 2017, 23:29
For the reasons that you have mentioned @mashiat, I’m anticipating 2018 to be electric!!!!! I have to mention that 2017 has been ace too. The battle between Vettel and Hamilton has been seismic! Sure they didn’t make it til the last race but it has been back and forth all year. Vettel made mistakes, Hamilton deserved it more. Next year has the potential to blow this year out of the water. Beyond exciting!!!!!
Aapje (@aapje)
29th October 2017, 20:53
Interesting how hard Alonso fought the overtake by Hamilton. I think that it was personal…
Understeer (@abdelilah)
29th October 2017, 21:10
@aapje I tough the same, there was something special about how hard he fought Lewis.
John H (@john-h)
29th October 2017, 21:24
It was fantastic to see. I think Alonso knew the cameras were on that one. Great racing that.
C
29th October 2017, 21:15
Not sure Alonso had to fight hard since he could have had a better chance with overtaking Magnussen by hanging behind Hamilton. It was a fair fight as well between two and more importantly Hamilton didnt go off the track to overtake alonso unlike “Golden boy” had done before.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
29th October 2017, 21:27
@aapje You are seeing things that doesn’t exist as Alonso is always a nightmare to pass. And here he had more pace than usual so it was worth a fight. It was good and fair though, perhaps the nicest scrape of the race. Kudos to them!
Neil (@neilosjames)
29th October 2017, 21:35
I like to think it was just a message for next season… ‘I haven’t forgotten how to race, see you soon’.
But equally, it could just have been Alonso being bored and wanting to have some fun fighting against a guy he never usually gets anywhere near.
BigJoe
29th October 2017, 21:56
*never usually*
not since he beat him using the 7th best car at Hungary 2014, no
Mashiat (@mashiat)
30th October 2017, 9:24
Well, he did beat him in Hungary 2015.
David BR (@david-br)
29th October 2017, 21:59
I just took it as a compliment, someone for Alonso to really race with. And that if Hamilton is going to win another championship, he should earn it.
OOliver
30th October 2017, 12:55
Alonso was trying to score more points and also compare the relative strengths of the 2 cars.
He was still fair.
Stubborn Swiss (@stubbornswiss)
29th October 2017, 20:55
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton – 4th World Drivers Championship.
…..even after Vettel crashed into him AGAIN!!!!!!
baron
29th October 2017, 20:56
Hahahahahaha.
C
29th October 2017, 21:44
Certainly a Germain thing to crash into championship rivals.
Ldom (@ldom)
30th October 2017, 1:00
Yes it definitely reminded me of another German driver, that wouldn’t mind pulling dirty tricks too.
Come on Vettel I thought you were better than this (but not really).
magon4 (@magon4)
30th October 2017, 10:49
somewhat mistified by that comment… ;)
mystic one (@mysticus)
29th October 2017, 23:27
@stubbornswiss i dont know how FIA still allows Vettel go scot free on an event like that (and all before)… Ham overtook him fair and square and he just couldnt keep it clear… He bumped into one car, racing incident, next car damaged, no penalty… Ham have received harshest of them all before, in singapore with massa, he got penalty, where as webber hit him, gone away scot free… people at fia really hate Ham i think… if he hits anyone like that, he gets a penalty… if anyone hits him, they go scot free! ros at spa vettel at baku and singapore, wth is wrong with FIA seriously, Fan U Charlie!
John Toad (@)
30th October 2017, 0:48
After COTA I thought it was very clear that you couldn’t overtake with all four wheels outside the track limits without getting a penalty.
I guess I missed the sub-clause that says ‘except if it’s a Ferrari doing the overtaking.
SV was clearly well the other side of the white lines when he passed FM but not even a hint of the stewards looking at the incident.
The variability of rules application is making it really hard to maintain an interest in F1.
javier javier
30th October 2017, 2:26
Felipe Massa apparently lost the rear and was going to hit Seb, in the process Massa pushed Seb out of the track.. and Vettel was ahead anyway.. Massa did a stupid dive
CarWars (@maxv)
30th October 2017, 6:12
@ceevee Yep saw that aswell, not even investigated…
Keith
30th October 2017, 6:40
He was pushed off the track in the first place after being ahead, then he turned back onto the track instead of just cutting the corner, effectively lengthening the road for him. Hardly worthy of a penalty.
Lee1
30th October 2017, 10:37
The rules clearly state that you can not leave the track at any time. Vettel would have to have ever given the fight up on that corner if there had been a wall there so he gained an advantage too.
Lee1
30th October 2017, 10:35
And overtook another car while off the track… Tell me again how that was not gaining a lasting advantage?
David BR (@david-br)
29th October 2017, 20:55
Congratulations Hamilton and Mercedes. And Verstappen, superb race, double points for ignoring all the Renault engines blowing up around him.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
29th October 2017, 20:58
Great performance by Hamilton, dirty move by Vettel, he had plenty of room I still don’t get why he pulled such amateur move knowing what he had to lose.
Bob
29th October 2017, 21:54
Please no, he clearly had … oh, look at your username.
And I think there also was a concertina effect with Verstappen not accelerating as fast, so Hamilton couldn’t get on the power as early.
The thing I saw in this accident is: We need narrower front wings again (and more simply).
Rick (@bullet190)
29th October 2017, 20:58
Well done Lewis, not the race you wanted today but congrats on the 4th world championship, roll on number 5 !
Alex McFarlane
29th October 2017, 20:59
Get in there Lewis!
Not the race anyone wanted today, would have liked to have seen Lewis, Seb and Max battling it out up front, but neverless Championship wrapped up for Lewis, and probably the best of the 4 in my opinion – fortunate in that Ferrari had some reliability issues but otherwise he has driven well throughout this year and the Merc wasn’t 30 seconds ahead of everyone else like 2014 and 2015 – it has been genuinely fought with Ferrari and later on in the season Red Bull.
nase
29th October 2017, 21:22
I guess I’m ‘not anyone’ then. :-)
If I can get a race in which neither driver plays a role from time to time, I’ll take it.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
29th October 2017, 21:40
Not just Ferrari issues but better issues as well. Today is another prime example of him losing unnecessary points
lancesuk (@lancesuk)
29th October 2017, 21:00
Did anyone else see the desperate Hamilton fan trying to run alongside him and literally running over a fat guy coming the opposite direction? Ouch. Must’ve hurt. Hilarious! Congratulations to Lewis! Thrilling race.
RL
30th October 2017, 7:16
It seemed like he was trying to get an autograph or something. As if Lewis was going to stop and sign something for eBay.
Kimiwillbeback
29th October 2017, 21:02
We have just seen the dawn of an era and the beginning of a new glorious era.
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on a fourth and well deserved World Championship.
Congratulations to Max Verstappen that is ushering in the new era of F1. There is no doubt he’s now the dominant force in F1. Imperious performance, the clash between Hamilton and Vettel didn’t matter at all for the win. Verstappen would have dominated them both completely today. He has in reality clearly been the best driver for the last four races!
Bram (@br444m)
29th October 2017, 21:28
I thought the same.
Vet 4th, Ham 8th and taking the championship. Ver dethroning both at the start and never looking back. It feels like this is his real breakthrough and the takeover of a new generation, with Ocon, Stroll and Leclerc also coming to the front.
David BR (@david-br)
29th October 2017, 22:03
I’m a Verstappen fan too, but come on, though his talent is in no doubt, the biggest questions are yet to come: what about when he has things to lose (rather than just win at the tail end of this season). He could afford to be aggressive, even to the extent of ignoring the engine risks today and not taking it easily. We need to see him competing under pressure for the title.
DZ
29th October 2017, 22:30
I think he had proven that already in his karting years. Max feels no pressure. That’s one of his greatest qualities.
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2017, 10:19
Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean he’ll win a championship that way. In Mexico it could have been him taking damage. I’d put him in the same bracket in skill terms as Hamilton, but the problem is someone like Vettel or Massa ruining your day when you try to go close racing with them.
Hamilton yesterday did the right thing, stayed away from both at the start, but when they tangled and he was running faster, he could only go for the pass. Again it was Vettel’s ‘clumsiness’ (best case scenario) that ruined Hamilton’s race. So Verstappen isn’t excluded magically from having to calculate these risks if he wants to win a championship.
Dom (@3dom)
30th October 2017, 0:09
@david-br I get the feeling that Verstappen will be uncompromising even in the midst of a championship battle. Will be great to see Hamilton, Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo battling at the front in the next few years though
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2017, 1:28
@3dom I think you’re probably right. We’ll just have to see if being uncompromising pays off. One thing’s for sure. if next season is like the end of this, Verstappen will be a major problem for Hamilton and Vettel after their fifth.
RogerRichards
29th October 2017, 21:08
i think anyone that thinks vettel did that deliberately knows nothing about racing, he was turning right to avoid contact for crying out loud.
http://oi67.tinypic.com/f9dz0g.jpg
Sonics (@sonicslv)
29th October 2017, 21:21
No sane person accuse Vettel doing it deliberately, but many people say he’s driving poorly. When someone enter the turn on the most inside part of the track and hit someone on the most outside of the track, that’s really poor driving.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
29th October 2017, 21:31
@sonicslv I think he could have avoided that crash specially if he already brushed Max rear tyre, he could have done better to be honest but I just think that it was a desperate move trying to get hold of something about to get lost, I’m sure Vettel will not admit this during interviews, he is a saint, he does not do mistakes .
Sonics (@sonicslv)
30th October 2017, 6:49
@abdelilah Could he avoid contact? Definitely, since there’s a lot of room and time to react. Did he deliberately hit Hamilton? No, it’s silly and Vettel has much more to lose*. He just trying to get back to speed ASAP after his contact with Max, only taking it too far. It’s not desperate move, just poor driving.
*It’s silly to think Vettel planned this or has an a-ha moment right after he saw Hamilton passing by. First, deliberately making a puncture to another car and go away unscathed is almost impossible to do and even then you can bet all stewards eyes will be looking at you. Second, having any damage to a car is affecting Vettel more than Hamilton. He need 2 wins and 1 2nd position with Hamilton basically DNF at remaining races, what he can/should do it getting a win here. At that time, he already have front wing damage from contact with Max, which probably he can live with until the scheduled stop. Triggering a sure need for front wing change in first lap is suicide, Hamilton DNF or not. And by then Renault engine woe is not in consideration yet, he can’t be sure to have easy time passing Max, Bottas, Ricciardo, 2 Force Indias and 2 Renaults and he need to pass at least all of them but one to get 2nd position he need to keep the championship alive (assuming Kimi will give his place voluntarily). Even if we assume Vettel/Ferrari want to play dirty, they should use Kimi to do the shenanigans instead of Vettel.
Will Jones
29th October 2017, 21:24
Do try to resist posting stills and slomo’s to make your point. You’re spot on, but Vettel was turning right to get round the corner, he was sawing at his wheel and any idiot could post a few frames earlier to make it look like he was turning into Lewis. The reason why he was sawing at his wheel, as they all did around there was because he was trying too eek out the last of the grip. That’s all, a simple racing incident. Almost a textbook racing incident!