Mexico Grand Prix Review: What The Drivers Said

Lewis Hamilton showed his ability to maximise tyre life to take out the Mexico Grand Prix while Ferrari will feel they missed an opportunity after a front row lock out. Here’s what the top 10 drivers said about the race.

Lewis Hamilton – 1st

“Today was a surprise, we’ve really struggled here for quite some time and we came into this weekend expecting it to be very difficult. We really thought we would be on the back foot, but we kept our heads down, we kept working hard and it all came together in the end. I had a crazy first couple of corners today, I was pushed on the grass at the start and then Max hit me. It was not easy to recover from that afterwards – I had a massive chunk of my floor missing, so the rear end was moving a lot and I had to really change the dynamic of how I was driving. I don’t know how I managed to keep it going, but I did. The guys also did a fantastic job with the strategy – we stopped pretty early, and honestly I thought it might have been too early, but it all worked out in the end. I really wanted to deliver for the fans today; they were all out there during the drivers’ parade supporting me, so I really wanted to give them a good performance and I’m so grateful we won.”

Sebastian Vettel – 2nd

“We didn’t get is so wrong today. It was simply a case of not believing that the hard tyres could last so long, considering how early in the race Lewis pitted. He took a risk and it paid off. For our part, we tried both strategies; two stops for Charles and one for me and the final result proves that both of them were good.
On Friday, we had a lot of graining, while today there was none and that made the difference, helping those who decided to take the risk.
Obviously, we can’t be pleased with this result, because when you start from the front row, as a team, you expect to win. In the closing laps we lacked the speed to try and go for the win. For Lewis and Valtteri, everything went really perfectly, while maybe we were just a bit unlucky.”

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Valtteri Bottas – 3rd

“Today was a very good day, especially considering the circumstances – the shape of my car after the crash yesterday and the fact that I started P6. I had a difficult start, but after that I had a very strong race. I looked after the tyres and managed to extend the first stint quite a bit, which opened up a few opportunities. I was trying to put some pressure on Sebastian, but ultimately, I don’t think the margin between him and me was enough to overtake. We maximised our result and the entire team delivered today – from the mechanics fixing my car to the strategists coming up with a great plan for the race –everyone did a really good job. Yesterday, both Red Bull and Ferrari had the upper hand, but we’ve really been strong on Sundays this year and ultimately that’s the day that matters. We secured the Constructors’ Championship in the last race, but today’s result shows that this team is still hungry and I’m really happy that all the hard work from everyone in Brackley and Brixworth paid off today.”

Charles Leclerc – 4th

“Starting a race from pole and not finishing first is always disappointing. The beginning of the race went well, and I managed to stay in the lead for the first stint. Wanting to cover off Alex (Albon), we pitted early and committed to a two-stop strategy.
After my first stop the race was very tricky: my second stint was difficult and any time I approached a car ahead I struggled with overheating and couldn’t overtake.
All in all, it’s a shame but if there is something I can learn from today it is to try to help the team more with my feedback from inside the car so that we can make the best call together.”

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Alex Albon – 5th

“Today was ok and I had good fun. I think it was one of my best races in terms of pace and the guys in front weren’t too far ahead! At the start we were running third and I was getting quite excited. It was great to be fighting at the front but unfortunately their one stop strategy worked out better. We stuck to a two stop strategy but I’m not sure if we had the pace or tyre life to make a one stop work. I lost quite a lot of time getting through traffic, especially after my first pit stop when I came out behind Sainz but there’s quite a high chance of getting traffic at this circuit. The boys also got the fastest pit stop of the race, so I obviously hit my marks! They have had a busy weekend so that was a great job and I’ll have to repay them. Overall, I’m happy with my performance and I’m improving my consistency which is important. The lap times are coming and now I’ve got three more races to improve even further!”

Max Verstappen – 6th

“Sixth obviously isn’t where I wanted to finish today with the car we had but when you look at the circumstances I think it was still a very good race. I had a good start and I think Lewis got pushed onto the grass by a Ferrari so he lost some momentum. He came back around the outside at Turn 1 and then into Turn 2 he went very deep to defend and I had to go onto the grass to avoid him. The race was still on until I overtook Valtteri and he clipped my rear tyre which gave me a puncture and I had to do a whole lap to get back to the pits. After that I was forced to do a one stop which was very slow as I did 66 laps on the hard tyre. The result is a shame as the pace was good and the car was good but to come back to sixth was actually not a bad result if you look at everything that went on.”

Sergio Perez – 7th

“This is a great day for me and my team. I think the race was just about perfect and I want to congratulate the entire team for all their hard work delivering this result. It’s extra special to score good points in my home race – in front of the fans who have given me so much support this week. There were some cars that were a bit quicker than us today, but we beat them with a fantastic strategy. This feels like a victory for us. The race was so intense, especially the battle against Daniel [Ricciardo] at the end – when he was on fresher tyres and putting big pressure on me. I had to concentrate so hard and push right until the end. I’m very satisfied with our performance and the points we scored today are important for the fight in the teams’ championship.”

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Daniel Ricciardo – 8th

“It’s good to be in the points. I could have got more if I had passed Perez but I just couldn’t make it stick. I sent it into turn one, maybe a little late and the postman wasn’t there! We made a really strong start on the Hard tyre and that set us up for the rest of the race. It’s a solid day with both cars back in the points. It’s been a tough week for the team, so I’m proud of them and how they’ve kept their spirits high. We regrouped quickly and we can be pleased with that, but now we have to move on and keep it up.”

Pierre Gasly – 9th

“It wasn’t easy at all inside of the cockpit, but today I gave everything and I’m happy with scoring two points. Overall the car has been competitive all weekend, which was positive. Starting the race on the Option tyre clearly wasn’t ideal, but we tried to make the best out of it. In the end we managed to make it work which was important for our battle in the Championship.”

Nico Hülkenberg – 10th

“We definitely wanted more today, so it’s frustrating to only pick up one point. We perhaps were a little bit too keen to pit early. In the latter stages of the race I was struggling with the car a bit, trying to get in a rhythm. There’s not much to say about the final corner incident. We were running in ninth, but I had no grip, I was pushed by Daniil [Kvyat] and it doesn’t take much to spin. It was a shame as it cost us an extra point.”

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