Lewis Hamilton WINS fifth F1 world title at Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen takes race It wasn’t the way Hamilton possibly would have wanted to mark winning the 2018 world championship. A blistering start off the line saw him squeeze in between the Red Bulls and looked as though he may pull of a surprise result.
However, Max Verstappen quickly pulled away from the Mercedes driver, leaving Hamilton constantly looking in his rearview mirrors. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel made their way past the Briton and there was a scary moment midway through the race when he locked up and went on to the grass, only to maintain control and avoid the barrier.
He struggled to keep up with Ferrari and Red Bull, settling for fifth place. But all Hamilton had to do was finish seventh or higher while Vettel had to win the race in order to keep the title fight alive. Hamilton won’t care all that much on how he clinched his fifth world title at the Mexican Grand Prix as his hard work over the entire season is enough evidence to prove he is more than deserving.
It now puts Hamilton level with Juan Manuel Fangio on five world titles and two behind Michael Schumacher. Could the 33-year-old catch the Formula One legend? You wouldn’t put it past him after dominating the sport for another year. Mexican Grand Prix RECAP Lewis Hamilton has just received a message over team radio.
from Hollywood star Will Smith?! Lap 71 - LEWIS HAMILTON crowned 2018 F1 world champion And Verstappen takes the chequered flag for his fifth victory in Formula One! But all the headlines will be about Lewis Hamilton as his fourth-placed finish is enough to be crowned world champion! Lap 69 Barring any incredible retirements, this race is already over. There’s at least a 15 second gap between each of the top five drivers. Good news for Verstappen but take nothing away from his dominant drive.
Hamilton is two laps away from being crowned the 2018 F1 world champion. Lap 64 Six laps to go and Verstappen holds a 14 second lead over Vettel. Ricciardo's retirement pushes Hamilton up to fourth and all-but confirms he will be crowned the 2018 world champion this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo is always the happiest man on the grid but that famous smile has been tested to the limit this year.
On course for second place or at least a podium, a puff of smoke appears from the rear of his car and suddenly his race is over. That's EIGHT retirements for Ricciardo this season. Can almost understand his desire to leave after that. Is there now concern for Verstappen? Lap 52 Now it could get interesting at the front. Vettel is loving life on the ultrasofts and gaining fast on Ricciardo. He’s just eight seconds behind Verstappen.
Hamilton on the radio again saying ‘something isn’t right’. Lap 50 Bottas does exactly what Hamilton did in the same part of the track and follows his team-mate into the pits for fresh tyres. Verstappen went into the pits but remained ahead of his rivals. Current top six: Verstappen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Bottas Lap 48 Hamilton GOES OFF THE TRACK! He locks up with Ricciardo raining down on him and he runs on to the grass.
Heart in mouth moment for Hamilton fans but he is able to keep his car moving before coming into the pits for fresh tyres. Lap 45 Hamilton constantly on the radio to Mercedes, airing his frustration at his tyres. He doesn’t feel like he’s on the right strategy and he is dropping down with Ricciardo gaining. The Australian has had a couple of looks but Hamilton isn’t giving up his position easily.
Lap 39 And Vettel has now got past Hamilton moving up to second. A rare bit of joy for the Ferrari driver against his rival after a torrid past few months. He still needs a lot to happen from now in order to steal the world title, but he will likely only be thinking about this race and is gaining on Verstappen.
Lap 35 I said it wouldn't take long! Vettel gets past Ricciardo with a brilliant move on the inside. Now there's just under four seconds separating him and Hamilton. Lap 34 An incredible show of pure dominance from Verstappen. He leads Hamilton by 14 seconds. Vettel is on the move though after the VSC ends. He is on Ricciardo’s tail and toying with the Red Bull.
Only a matter of time before he moves past his former team-mate. Lap 29 Vettel now within DRS zone of Ricciardo who is struggling for pace. He has fallen away from Hamilton, who looks like he will have to come in for a second pit-stop soon. A reminder that Vettel must win the race with Hamilton finish no higher than eighth to take the battle into Brazil next month.
Lap 24 Not the most exciting race so far by any stretch of the imagination. Had the feeling around the sport for a while now that Vettel has given up on trying to pull off the impossible. He is closing in on Ricciardo and this race will definitely liven up if rain starts falling. Lap 18 Verstappen was clearly frustrated after qualifying last night, after being pipped to pole by Ricciardo.
And he is driving like a man determined to rectify that. He now leads Hamilton by 8.8 seconds and isn’t showing any signs of being caught. Lap 11 Verstappen building a big lead at the front of the pack, now six seconds ahead of Hamilton. Ricciardo struggling to keep up with his team-mate.
Hamilton now heads into the pits with Bottas quickly to follow. Drops the Briton down to fifth behind the two Ferraris. Lap 4 So Verstappen leads ahead of Hamilton with Ricciardo third and Vettel fourth. Vettel looked like he had the pace off the line to also get ahead of the Australian, but he was left no room to make a move.
Fernando Alonso's race is also over after pulling his car to the side of the road. Only two more races for the Spaniard's Formula One career. Lap 1 Excellent start from Hamilton! He gets his car between the two Red Bulls as Ricciardo and Verstappen swap places. All the frontrunners manage to avoid contact but not what Red Bull wanted early on.
LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO! 7pm: Just 10 minutes until lights out in Mexico and we could be in for a fascinating race if the weather forecast is correct. It is expected to stay dry for the start of the race, but then clouds will descend over the track with a small chance of rain towards the end of the race.
6:50pm: There is a bit of deja vu for Hamilton after he won the 2017 title at the Mexican Grand Prix. It wasn't all plain sailing for the 33-year-old that time around though as he collided with Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap, but a ninth-placed finish proved enough. He will be hoping to avoid a similar situation this time around though.
6:40pm: Hello, good evening and welcome to Express Sport's live blog for the Mexican Grand Prix where the 2018 championship could finally be decided with Lewis Hamilton closing in on a fifth world title.