Max Verstappen wins supremely in Mexico: “Car was super”

Published on 29 October 2017 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen has achieved his third career win at the Mexican Grand Prix. After a magnificent overtake on Vettel on the first lap, the Dutchman bolted and wasn’t seen until the end of the race. Which he won quite dominantly. Lewis Hamilton came in ninth fastest, but became the world champion due to the point’s advantage he had on Vettel, who came in fourth. The Brit has now become a four time world champion. Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen both rounded up the podium.

“The start was crucial”, says Max after the race. “The start itself was not great because I was very high in the limiter, which is not great. But then it was actually perfect because I had a good tow on Sebastian and I went around the outside in turn one and from there on I was just doing my own race to be honest. This was one of the easiest races in my whole career. After last week, this was just a perfect race.”

The RB13 of the Dutchman was performing well the whole weekend on the Mexican circuit. “I was confident the car was going to be good. Just looking at the long run pace, it was very easy for us to do quick lap times. We just needed to make sure the balance of the car was correct to sustain that. The car was super today and we had more in store. My gratitude to Red Bull is huge, because without them this wouldn’t have been possible.

The string of good results the past races, has given Verstappen confidence again in the future. “I believe in the team. That’s why I signed on again. It’s apparant that we’re heading in the right direction. Hopefully we can start well next year then I’m sure we can achieve great things.”

When the lights go out on Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Max Verstappen gets well off the line. Heading into turn one, the Dutchman almost instantly puts his RB13 next to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari. In turn two, the German, despite a slight contact, passes him. Vettel damages a piece of his front wing on Verstappen’s car. The Red Bull Racing-driver is however not affected by this and continues on. This is not the case for Lewis Hamilton. As he comes out of the third corner, the Brit is hit by Vettel. Which results in a puncture, forcing the leader in the standings to pit after just one lap. Vettel also does the same due to damage to his front wing. After the pit stops, the two drivers are at the back of the field

Daniel Ricciardo reports on lap six to his team because of an issue with the MGU-H. The car is shut down after a small inspection. This makes Max Verstappen’s team mate the first drop out of the day.

After ten laps, Max Verstappen is leading the pack, with Valtteri Bottas behind him. The Force India outfit is doing well as both their drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez are third and fifth. Nico Hülkenberg is also in a good spot as he is running in P4.

Pérez comes in on lap nineteen for his first pit stop. The Mexican swaps his ultra-softs for the softs. Meanwhile Hamilton and Vettel are trying to work their way up through the pack, albeit said that Hamilton is struggling a bit more with his attempt. On lap twenty-two Max closes the gap to the rest of the field and laps the Brit. The three time world champion needn’t worry about the championship though as Vettel is nowhere near the required second spot finish.

On lap twenty-six the second drop out gets on the radio. This time it’s Nico Hülkenberg. The team tells him that the car of the Renault-driver is unsafe and he is instructed to immediately turn off the car and park it trackside. Max’ lead on Bottas, at that moment some eight seconds, is quite comfortable.

A few laps before the halfway point, another Renault-engine has had enough of it and calls it quits. Brendon Hartley parks his Toro Rosso, which bellowing smoke and fire, alongside the track. This brings out the virtual safety car, causing almost the entire field to pit for new tyres. Max also comes in and gets the super-softs strapped on to his RB13. He continues on, still in P1. Bottas follows suit. Raikkonen, third at that moment, opts for a harder compound. After the pit stops, the top six is formed by Verstappen, Bottas, Raikkonen, Ocon, Stroll and Pérez.

The second half of the race means one thing for Max Verstappen: maintaining the lead. With over twenty laps to go, this is no less than fourteen seconds. And this keeps growing lap after lap. Eventually, the twenty-year-old Dutchman takes the checkered flag with an almost twenty second lead. Vettel manages to come in fourth fastest, but this cannot prevent Hamilton, who comes in ninth, to be crowned world champion. The Brit adds another championship to his name after a solid season and is now ranked in the same list as Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel.

Mexican Grand Prix - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez - Sunday 29 October

RACE RESULTS

01 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer  	71 1:36:26.552  25
02 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                   	71 +19.678s     18
03  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                    	71 +54.007s     15
04  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                    	71 +70.078s     12
05 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes       	70 +1 lap       10
06 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes          	70 +1 lap       8
07 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes       	70 +1 lap       6
08 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari               	70 +1 lap       4
09 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                   	70 +1 lap       2
10 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda              	70 +1 lap       1
11 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes          	70 +1 lap       0
12  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda              	70 +1 lap       0
13 10 Pierre Gasly        Toro Rosso                 	70 +1 lap       0
14 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari             	69 +2 laps      0
15  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari               	69 +2 laps      0
NC 55 Carlos Sainz        Renault                    	59 DNF          0
NC  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari             	55 DNF          0
NC 28 Brendon Hartley     Toro Rosso                 	30 DNF          0
NC 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                    	24 DNF          0
NC  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer  	5  DNF          0