2017 Mexican Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Mexico
Grand Prix:Mexican
Details Ref:[1]
Year:2017
Race No:18
Season No:20
Image Link:Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 2015.svg
Image-Size:200px
Official Name:Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2017[2] [3]
Location:Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Km:4.304
Course Mi:2.674
Weather:Sunny, dry
Distance Laps:71
Distance Km:305.354
Distance Mi:189.738
Pole Team:Ferrari
Pole Time:1:16.488
Fast Driver:Sebastian Vettel
Fast Team:Ferrari
Fast Time:1:18.785
Fast Lap:68
Fast Country:GER
Second Driver:Valtteri Bottas
Second Country:FIN
Second Team:Mercedes
Third Driver:Kimi Räikkönen
Third Country:FIN
Third Team:Ferrari
Attendance:337,043[4]
Previous Round:2017 United States Grand Prix
Next Round:2017 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2017 Mexican Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2017) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 October 2017 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The race marked the nineteenth running of the Mexican Grand Prix, and the eighteenth time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in .

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen won the race, while Lewis Hamilton secured his fourth world title with two races remaining after championship rival Sebastian Vettel finished fourth.[5] [6]

Report

Hamilton came into the race with a 66-point lead over Vettel and requiring a fifth-place finish to claim his fourth world title. Sebastian Vettel needed to outscore Hamilton by 17 points to keep the championship fight alive.

Driver changes

Pierre Gasly returned to Toro Rosso after sitting out the United States Grand Prix. Gasly replaced Daniil Kvyat, while the team retained Brendon Hartley (now considered a regular driver and using number 28) in their second car.[7]

Qualifying

Vettel pipped Verstappen to pole position, the two ahead of the two Mercedes cars of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas with the Mercedes cars yet again struggling in high downforce circuits but were much closer to Ferrari and Red Bull than in the previous high downforce track in Singapore. Kimi Räikkönen qualified in 5th ahead of Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, who had problems heating up his tyres, Nico Hülkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez.

Race

Ricciardo took a 20 place grid penalty after replacing a part on his power unit before the race.

Verstappen managed to force himself past Vettel at the second corner and in doing so allowed Hamilton to overtake Vettel. However, Vettel, on the entry to the third corner, clipped Verstappen's right rear tyre and then made a larger impact to Hamilton's right rear tyre. This greatly damaged Vettel's front wing and he had to pit on the first lap to get it replaced. While Verstappen survived the contact with Vettel and minor contact with Hamilton, Hamilton obtained a puncture from the collision with Vettel and had to limp back to the pits and replace his tyres. This left both championship contenders in last with Vettel 19th and Hamilton in 20th, 24 seconds further behind. After the first lap, the running order was Verstappen, Bottas, Ocon, Hülkenberg, Sainz, Pérez and Lance Stroll. Sainz then spun in the high speed section and had to pit for new tyres and came out in 19th place. With Hamilton now out of the points, Vettel needed to finish 2nd in order to keep his championship hopes alive and he swiftly made his way through the field, while Hamilton, with rear diffuser damage, struggled to make his way past Sainz. In the 24th lap, Hülkenberg retired with an engine problem in what was his fourth retirement in five races and his third in a row. Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso ground to a halt on the 31st lap and brought out the Virtual Safety Car, allowing Räikkönen to jump Ocon into 3rd place and Stroll to jump Pérez into 5th place. Vettel, by the flag, had managed to battle his way to fourth place, but it wasn't enough to stop Hamilton, who finished 9th, from winning the World Championship. Ricciardo (who had retired after a few laps while running in the points), Sainz and Marcus Ericsson, having been running the points for a long time, were the other retirees. Verstappen won for the third time in his career ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen.[8]

Classification

Qualifying

DriverConstructor
Q1Q2Q3
15Ferrari1:17.6651:16.8701:16.4881
2331:17.6301:16.5241:16.5742
344Mercedes1:17.5181:17.0351:16.9343
477Mercedes1:17.5781:17.1611:16.9584
57 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:18.1481:17.5341:17.2385
631Force India-Mercedes1:18.3361:17.8271:17.4376
731:18.2081:17.6311:17.44716
827Renault1:18.3221:17.7921:17.4667
955 Carlos Sainz Jr.Renault1:18.4051:17.7531:17.7948
1011Force India-Mercedes1:18.0201:17.8681:17.8079
1119 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1:18.5701:18.09910
1218Williams-Mercedes1:18.9021:19.15911
1328Toro Rosso1:18.683No time17
1414McLaren-Honda1:17.710No time18
152McLaren-Honda1:18.578No time19
169Sauber-Ferrari1:19.17612
1794Sauber-Ferrari1:19.33313
1820 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:19.44314
198Haas-Ferrari1:19.47315
107% time

1:22.944

10 Pierre GaslyToro RossoNo time20
Source:[9]
Notes

Race

DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
133 Max Verstappen 711:36:26.552225
277 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes71+19.678418
37 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari71+54.007515
45 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari71+1:10.078112
531 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes70+1 Lap610
618 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes70+1 Lap118
711 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes70+1 Lap96
820Haas-Ferrari70+1 Lap144
944 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes70+1 Lap32
1014 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda70+1 Lap181
1119 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes70+1 Lap10
122McLaren-Honda70+1 Lap19
1310Toro Rosso70+1 Lap20
1494Sauber-Ferrari69+2 Laps13
158Haas-Ferrari69+2 Laps15
Ret55 Carlos Sainz Jr.Renault59Steering8
Ret9Sauber-Ferrari55Engine12
Ret28Toro Rosso30Engine17
Ret27 Nico HülkenbergRenault24Power Unit7
Ret35Turbo16
Source:[11]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Lewis Hamilton*333
2 Sebastian Vettel277
3 Valtteri Bottas262
4 Daniel Ricciardo192
5 Kimi Räikkönen178
Source:[12]
Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorPoints
1 Mercedes*595
2 Ferrari455
3 340
4175
5 Williams-Mercedes76
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mexico. formula1.com. 19 September 2017.
  2. Web site: 2017 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project. Malcolm. Mitchell. www.progcovers.com.
  3. Web site: Hermanos Rodríguez - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project. Malcolm. Mitchell. www.progcovers.com.
  4. News: F1 reveals overall rise in 2017 attendance. GPupdate.net. JHED Media BV. 8 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171209011037/https://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/361717/f1-reveals-eight-per-cent-rise-in-2017-attendance/. 9 December 2017.
  5. Web site: Lewis Hamilton wins fourth world title at Mexican Grand Prix. 29 October 2017. BBC Sport. 31 October 2017.
  6. Web site: Lewis Hamilton wins F1 world title after dramatic start to Mexican GP. 30 October 2017. Guardian. 31 October 2017.
  7. News: Hartley retained for Mexican Grand Prix. Speedcafe. 24 October 2017. 25 October 2017.
  8. Web site: Race - Hamilton champion as Verstappen wins in Mexico. 12 November 2017.
  9. Web site: Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2017 – Qualifying . Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Ltd . 28 October 2017 . 28 October 2017.
  10. Web site: Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2017 – Starting Grid . Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Ltd . 28 October 2017 . 29 October 2017.
  11. Web site: 2017 Grand Prix of Mexico. live. 14 September 2021. Racing-Reference. https://web.archive.org/web/20210428031947/https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2017_Grand_Prix_of_Mexico/F/ . 2021-04-28 .
  12. Web site: Mexico 2017 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 19 March 2019.