The Best Moments Of The Freakishly Good Mexican Grand Prix
1. Whereâs Hamilton off to?
It was like something you do on an open lobby F1 2016 race. Lewis Hamilton locked up and went straight on at the first corner on the opening lap of the race, completely ignoring the chicane and emerging with quite a healthy lead.
How he didnât get a penalty, we do not knowâŠ
But, because of several collisions further back, the Safety Car was deployed and his advantage was cut. Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen clashed, causing the Mercedes to also cut the chicane, while Esteban Gutierrez tagged Pascal Wehrlein into Marcus Ericsson.
We didnât see it until a little way into the race but Fernando Alonso made an epic save on the first lap when he was forced onto the grass by countryman and friend Carlos Sainz Jr. Theyâll probably be having words later onâŠ
4. Zzzzzz
As we saw last year at the Mexican GP, things quickly calmed down through the pit stop phase. Gaps opened up and battles fizzled out, but we all hoped it would come together at the end as strategies merged.
Nico Hulkenberg tried his best to fend off Kimi Raikkonen (Hulk vs. Iceman) but the Ferrari driver went around the outside at Turn 4, with minor contact sending the Force India into a smokey spin. He dropped to seventh.
After a failed move by Verstappen, Rosberg scampered off into the distance. Vettel tried to pass the Red Bull on lap 70 but he went straight across the first chicane (âHamiltonâ style). Daniel Ricciardo then tried to get in on the act at the next corner but he tagged wheels with Vettel and the Ferrari remained ahead.
Things got heated on Vettelâs team radio, with the FOM bleep machine getting worked hard to cover up some of the fruity language. Vettel was fuming, but that was set to changeâŠ
8. Post-race drama
Verstappen had made it up to the pre-podium green room with Hamilton, who won the race, and Rosberg before he learned that he had been given a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting the chicane when Vettel tried to overtake. His mood quickly souredâŠ
Rosberg now has a 19-point lead over Hamilton in the title fight, ahead of the penultimate race weekend in Brazil in two weeks.
What was your favourite moment? Let us know in the comments!
Update
Vettel was given a 10-second penalty after the race for moving under braking during his battle with Ricciardo and fell to fifth. Ricciardo was promoted to the podium, the third driver to be classified P3 on SundayâŠ
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Comments
What about max attempting initial d?
Goddamit, I wish I could have woken up before the race was over. I woke up during the podium celebrations.
Take it to the chin, Vettel-boy.
Sorry, no. Its saved as as reenshot on my phone and i have no idea where i found it.
Vettel was handed a 10 second penalty for âpotentially dangerous drivingâ which puts him in 5th position, giving Ricciardo 3rd place.
Which is ridiculous, usually Vettel complains a lot, but this time heâs right. He had all the right to be angry. Max made a mistake, maintained his position by cutting two corners, didnât give Seb his position and slowed him down so Daniel could overtake him. Vettel defended his position perfectly, if Max didnât give him his position why did RedBull expect Seb to just move out of Danielâs way?. Bumping and defending positions is racing, racing is âPOTENTIALLY DANGEROUSâ. Giving a 10 second penalty because somebody defended his position and a 5 second one to somebody who cut 2 corners is idiotic. But I can understand Maxâs way of thinking, why would they penalise me if they didnât even analysed Hamiltonâs manoeuvre. FIA and F1 is a joke, drivers arenât allowed to fight each other and push their cars (because of fuel restrictions and energy and so onâŠ), and then they complain that the races are boring (which they are). Just my two cents. Rant ended.
And then there was this moment that Vettel get a 10 sec penalty. HAHA IN YOUR FACE VETTEL.
Perfect
Vettel got a 10 sec penalty. Ricciardo 3th, Verstappen 4th, Vettel 5th. As a Verstappen fan I think itâs fair now, but they should have given Hamilton a penalty as well.
I donât like what verstappen said. He just sank in my estimation
You can say whatever you want to about verstappen,vettel or hamilton but can we all atleast agree f1 is great again now.