Nico produced a flawless drive from pole to clinch his fourth win of the season - the 12th of his Formula One career - setting the fastest lap in the process. Lewis pushed his team-mate all the way to finish just two seconds adrift after 71 laps, completing a 10th Silver Arrows 1-2 of the season with his 15th podium of 2015. Lewis now leads the Drivers' Championship by 73 points from Nico, who reclaims second position from Vettel to sit 21 points clear of his compatriot.
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: What a fantastic weekend here in Mexico and an incredible atmosphere on the podium, probably the best I've ever seen, after a breathless race. Our boys just always keep pushing each other to new achievements. If one of them gets written off, he bounces back even stronger the next weekend, and that's what Nico did today. It was an unbelievable weekend: he had the fire in his belly after Austin and, from the first lap, he was right on it. He did a perfect job this afternoon. But Lewis didn't make life easy for him at all: he was right there all day, waiting for a slip that never came, and took a strong P2 finish. Of course, the main focus of interest was around the decision to convert our one-stop strategy to a two-stopper. From our side, it was a simple precaution: after the first stint on the option tyre, we had seen higher than expected wear levels and one of Lewis' tyres was even down to 0% rubber. The stint we were trying to do with the prime was already on the limit, and with that information in hand and a pit-stop gap to spare to the next car, it was the low-risk option to stop both cars again. Lewis obviously had a few questions about that and that's totally normal - race drivers have emotions and if they didn't focus on winning every time, they wouldn't be the talents they are. But we have the overview on the pit wall and Lewis followed the instruction to pit. After that, the Safety Car came out and made the matter academic: we would have pitted both cars for fresh tyres anyway. But it was Nico's day today: he didn't put a foot wrong all weekend and fully deserved his win.
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): First of all, I want to congratulate the entire team on the excellent preparations for this weekend, and especially the team at Brixworth who responded to the challenges of this high-altitude circuit exceptionally well - as we can see from the number of Mercedes-powered cars in the top 10. The same goes for our technical partners at Petronas, too, who met the unique challenges of Mexico City head on and delivered a perfect performance. These are difficult conditions to simulate in the lab and our engineers did a great job to anticipate the circuit's demands. From the team's perspective, this wasn't a simple race. We went into it with lots of unknowns and plenty of parts of the car right on the limit, especially in terms of brake cooling. We had to manage the temperatures throughout to ensure that they stayed within limits and we didn't get into a situation of runaway brake wear - but great communication between the engineers and drivers meant we could do that. Tyre behaviour was also an unknown and, after the first stint, it was clear that the wear levels were higher than we had predicted on Friday. After completing the first stint, we had no rubber left on one of Lewis' tyres, and a much longer stint to complete on the prime. With a clear pit-stop gap to the cars behind, we therefore switched to a two-stop strategy because the planned stint length on the prime tyre would have been too marginal for comfort. Then the Safety Car came out anyway and took the matter out of our hands, as we would have stopped both cars had we not already just done so. Overall, it's extremely satisfying to come to a new circuit and take a strong 1-2 finish. Congratulations to Nico on a flawless weekend and to Lewis for a combative drive. But congratulations most of all to the organisers and fans, who created a feeling something like it must feel to win the World Cup as we stood in front of the podium. It was proof that Formula One is in great shape.
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "It was a great shame for Dany to miss out on a podium finish today. He had done everything right. Unfortunately, the Safety Car, which came out in the closing stages of the race bunched up the field and, given the straight line speed advantage of the Williams over our cars, it effectively gave Bottas a free pass to get in front of Dany. Nevertheless, fourth and fifth means we pick up a respectable number of points. Both drivers drove well, we had a good strategy and the pit crew performed well, with the whole team giving their maximum today. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough. This whole event has been fantastic, with a great atmosphere in the grandstands and in the paddock and the organisers are to be congratulated for successfully bringing Formula One back to Mexico."
Matthieu Dubois, Renault: "We are pretty pleased to finish this very technically challenging weekend with both cars finishing in respectable positions. The altitude made our lives very complicated from a turbine and cooling point of view, and all the work before and during the weekend demonstrated once again the robustness of the PU, even when operated right on and sometimes even beyond its limits. It is a bit sour that the safety car cost us a podium, which looked to be in our grasp for most of the race, but we have only bad luck to blame for this. We are now looking forward to Brazil were we can put on another good showing."
Valtteri Bottas finished third and Felipe Massa sixth in today's Mexican Grand Prix. Both cars had good starts but were caught out when Vettel slowed with a puncture and lost ground to the Red Bulls. Early pitstops gave the drivers free air to push and each overtook a Red Bull as the pitstops evened out. A late safety car allowed Felipe and Valtteri to pit for new option tyres and Valtteri took the opportunity to overtake Kvyat at the restart for the final podium spot.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: Overall, it was a positive day. The team equipped itself very well to deal with a new track. In terms of altitude, it's quite a change from other tracks but we didn't let it affect us. The Red Bulls were very strong around here so to outscore them is pleasing. We have missed a few podiums over the last few races, so to be back up there is great. We made good strategic calls, both drivers drove exceptionally well and the team as a complete unit operated very well.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "Over the course of this season we had already managed to touch the sky. This time we reached the bottom. But today's race was a lesson of humility that we must put to good use and that will further bind the team together and strengthen the character of everybody. I had already seen yesterday how this team can react to difficulties, having had to replace both engine and gearbox in so little time. Today, we are not blaming anybody: we are a team, we win and lose together. I regret the result as we had a really good pace in the race, but that's racing, you can always have a bad day. This does not change our targets for the season, as Seb can still catch Rosberg in the point standings and Kimi can do the same with Bottas."
Jenson was powerless to take the fight to the cars around him, despite a late-race chase of Carlos Sainz Jnr, and finished 14th. Fernando took to the grid in the knowledge that an MGU-H issue was extremely likely to limit his chances in the race. He duly retired on lap one.
Onwards and upwards, as they say…
Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: "Sadly, we knew before today's race had even begun that Fernando almost certainly wouldn't be able to finish it.
"Our problem was that the rotational sensor inside the MGU-H on his car had become unstable yesterday evening. It was therefore always going to be unlikely that he would be able to complete many laps this afternoon, but he vehemently wanted to try to do so because he's an out-and-out racer and because he was extremely keen to put on a good show for the spectators.
"We wholeheartedly supported that aspiration, of course, but unfortunately his race lasted but a single lap.
"Jenson finished the race, by contrast, which was positive. What wasn't so positive is that he did so in 14th place. As we've said throughout the weekend, this circuit doesn't suit our car's performance envelope, so we were never going to be able to trouble the scorers here.
"Having said that, there are silver linings to today's cloud. On the twisty bits Jenson reported that he was able to stay with many of the faster cars as they lapped him, and our data bears that out. So we're making progress, and we remain steadfast in our ambition to improve. Honda shares that determination, 100 percent.
"Finally, I want to pay tribute to the organisers, who have put on a superb event here in Mexico City. The circuit is an astute recreation of an oft-lauded classic, updated with both safety and spectacle in mind, and today it hosted a grand epreuve worthy of the name. Veritably, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is an excellent addition to the Formula 1 calendar, and, to the hordes of enthusiastic local fans who packed its grandstands to the rafters today, I hereby say: we're sorry we offered you neither thrills nor spills, but next year we'll be in the mix, mark my words."
Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer - chief officer of motorsport: "The return to the Mexican GP after 23 years was a bittersweet weekend for us. I would first and foremost like to thank all of the team for getting Fernando's car to the grid today.
"Yesterday evening we discovered his car had an unnervingly unstable MGU-H rotational sensor. The whole team agreed that we wanted to race, so, despite the risk, we took the decision to send the car to the grid. As usual, Fernando had a good start, but the afflicted sensor immediately went into fail mode, therefore we had to retire the car.
"Jenson had a difficult weekend, but gave his all in every session. In addition, we must say thank-you to Fernando for running solidly throughout the weekend, making the set-up of both cars possible for the race.
"For Brazil, we will first fully analyse what has happened with the sensor issues this weekend, and then prepare for the race ahead."
Sahara Force India scored ten points in today's Mexican Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez racing to seventh and eighth places.
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: "As a team I think we performed extremely well today. Up until the safety car we had worked hard to get Checo and Nico in a competitive position, and we made the right decisions when the safety car appeared. Nico was on course for a two-stop strategy so the safety car played nicely into his hands, but Checo was unlucky as it compromised his one-stop race plan. Even so, he made the one-stop strategy work and did a fantastic job of protecting the tyres and holding on to a well-deserved eighth place. It was important to score well with both cars today and it means we've extended our advantage over the teams behind us to strengthen our hold on fifth place. I'm proud of the strong results we are securing in this final part of the season and look forward to more of the same in Brazil and Abu Dhabi."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "First of all I'd like to congratulate the organisers of this Grand Prix here in Mexico, because it's a fantastic and beautiful venue and all the grandstands were full all weekend. The atmosphere is also great and I think they would've deserved a bit more of an interesting race. From our side, we showed an average performance because we had to slow down the cars to keep the temperatures under control, which meant that we lost performance. The drivers did a good job. Max finished in ninth position and I think this was, under these conditions, the maximum we could do. Carlos had some vibrations at the end of the race, therefore he couldn't push as normal or score any points. We were able to close the gap to Lotus by one point and they are now six points ahead of us with two races to go. Because of the long straight, the race in Brazil won't be an easy one for us, while Abu Dhabi maybe suits us a bit better. Nevertheless, we will push very hard to prepare ourselves in the best possible way to fight for that P6 in the Championship."
Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): "That felt like a very long race! Due to the unique challenges of this circuit, we were on the edge with all the temperatures and it was very difficult to manage, but we coped with everything well and saw the chequered flag with both drivers, and Max in the points. At a new track, which is also very difficult, we can see that as a positive."
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado took the chequered flag just 0.6seconds apart after an exciting first Mexican Grand Prix in 23 years. Pastor overtook Romain at the start, but Romain emerged ahead after the first pit stop and the black and gold duo were seldom far apart for the rest of the 71 lap race.
Romain started from P12 on the grid on his new soft compound tyres. He changed to new medium tyres on lap 11 and scrubbed softs under safety car conditions on lap 52. Pastor started from P13 on new soft tyres, changing to new medium tyres on lap 10 and scrubbed softs on lap 52.
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: "What a fantastic return for Formula 1 to Mexico. We saw a fast-paced and exciting race today where both our drivers were amazingly closely matched, showing they are both giving their all. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a wonderful venue and we received a superb response from all the fans. Everyone in the team continues to show their fighting spirit with just two races left this season."
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: "That was quite a straight-forward race for us to mark our return to Mexico. The circuit is very impressive and presents unique challenges from an engineering perspective. Both drivers drove strongly and intelligently and were very evenly matched throughout the race. Pastor lost time on his first pit stop from other traffic in the pit lane otherwise the finishing positions would likely be reversed, but he and Romain raced cleanly at every turn."
A difficult Mexican Grand Prix for the Sauber F1 Team. As expected, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr both struggled throughout the race with brake issues. Ericsson was able to finish the race in P12, while Nasr had to stop his Sauber C34-Ferrari out on the track.
Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "We knew that the race would be difficult. As expected, the brakes were the major challenge. Both drivers did their best, but, unfortunately, Felipe was not able to finish the race, whereas Marcus managed the situation well. However, his performance remains unrewarded finishing in 12th."
The Manor Marussia F1 Team wrote a fantastic next chapter in the Alexander Rossi Vs Will Stevens story today, during a thrilling Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2015 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The pair enjoyed a spectacular scrap throughout each of the race's 71 laps, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats and culminating in an impressive 12th two-car finish for the team this season. Alexander crossed the line in 15th place, while Will took 16th.
John Booth, Team Principal: "From my vantage point on the pit wall, our race today was every bit as exciting as the one between Nico and Lewis. Will and Alexander had a fierce but fair battle today. Ultimately Alexander triumphed, but it could easily have been the other way around. It was also thrilling right up until the last lap, when Alexander set his fastest lap of the race. As a team we've performed well all weekend, but today's pit work was particularly commendable as the crew managed the challenge of a double pit stop under the safety car flawlessly. The Mexican crowd were incredible and I'm delighted that Formula One has found another exciting destination; we have all enjoyed our visit here this weekend. I hope the next two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi will be as fascinating as this one."
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Nico Rosberg has won the first Mexican Grand Prix in 23 years from pole, with a two-stop strategy. Using a soft-medium-medium strategy, he beat his team mate Lewis Hamilton to secure a 10th one-two of the season for Mercedes and move back to second in the driver points standings.
Behind them, the race strategies were affected by a safety car with just 20 laps to go. This effectively allowed a ‘free' pit stop, which meant that those contemplating another stop could do so without a big penalty.
The exception was local hero Sergio Perez, driving for Force India, who stopped only once and finished in a points-scoring eighth: reinforcing his reputation for excellent tyre management. Perez was the only one-stopper in the race, with the vast majority of drivers stopping twice and a handful stopping three times: although none of the three-stoppers managed to score points.
An extra dimension to today's race was added by the highest track temperatures seen all weekend, despite earlier predictions of rain. With 46 degrees of track temperature and an increasing amount of rubber on the new surface, the pattern of wear and degradation seen in practice and qualifying was altered. The extra traction also helped to increase the very high top speeds seen in the thin air of Mexico, with Sebastian Vettel recording 366kph on the straight. Williams driver Felipe Massa clocked 352kph on the straight even without DRS assistance.
As the race went on and the track evolved, the medium tyre in particular came into its own, with the fastest lap being set by Rosberg (lap 67) on this compound at a pace about one second off the pole position he had set on soft tyres.
All the drivers started on the soft tyre compound, apart from the two McLarens as well as Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, who started on the medium compound.
Paul Hembery: "As expected we saw two stops for the majority of competitors, at what turned out to be quite a complicated race strategically because of a surface that kept on evolving, track temperatures a full 12 degrees higher than we experienced yesterday, and a safety car towards the end of the race. Formula One's return to Mexico has been a spectacular success, with an amazing and vibrant atmosphere from start to finish. As Nigel Mansell said when he interviewed the drivers on the podium: Viva Mexico! It's good to know that some things don't change: when Mexico last returned to F1 in 1986 a Pirelli-equipped car won, thanks to Gerhard Berger and Benetton, and the fans are still brilliant."
Truth-O-Meter
We predicted a two-stopper as being the best choice for the 71-lap race: starting on the soft tyre, changing to soft again on lap 23 and then to medium on lap 46. Rosberg chose a two-stopper with a similar pit stop window to our prediction but only did one opening stint on the soft at the start of the race. He moved to the medium on lap 26 and then to the medium again on lap 46. The strategy was affected by higher temperatures than seen previously during the weekend and continuous track evolution.
