Lewis Hamilton:
This weekend I've had really good pace. The car felt really strong from start to finish - night and day compared to last year. I had a good start - but it's such a long way down to Turn One that everyone just got the tow on me. The right front brake disc had glazed on the formation lap and I couldn't un-glaze it. I thought it might be okay - but when I hit the brakes it just locked up as the temperature came up and I went flying across the grass. I was lucky to get across and rejoin on the other side of the track. I had a big flat spot - and I mean seriously big. I could barely see the end of each straight with the vibrations and I genuinely didn't know if my suspension was going to last. I was really lucky not to catch it again and either destroy the tyre or have to come in for an early stop. Luckily, I got it under control and was cruising from quite early on. It's kinda crazy to think I now have 51 wins. It's a shame these results are coming so late in the season - possibly too late. You can look back at say that maybe if Malaysia didn't happen then I'd be in a different position right now. But that's motor racing. All I can do is my best and hope things go as they have done for the past two weekends. History has shown that it's never too late - that's why I keep pushing and doing everything I can to repeat weekends like this. I hadn't won here before so it's a great feeling to do that in front of this incredible crowd. Now my sights are fully set on Brazil. I've never won there either - but if I can take this kind of performance into the next weekend I'll be in a good position. Ultimately, as long as I feel I did the best I could in these final races, I can be happy at the end of the season.
Nico Rosberg:
The Mexican fans were really outstanding again. I got goose bumps already in the stadium before the race at the driver's parade. But then, when the people were calling my name on the podium, that was the most emotional moment of the weekend. Thank you to everybody who made this event possible and to every Mexican fan who made their way today to the track today. Checo Perez and Esteban Gutiérrez can be really proud of their countrymen. I had a tough race today. At the start I had a good getaway and thought I would be able to take the lead from Lewis, when I saw he had a massive lock up and went straight through the grass. Then, suddenly, Verstappen hit me heavily after he had a lock up too and forced me off the track. Luckily my car wasn't damaged and it didn't cost me a position. Lewis was that little bit quicker today, so I didn't manage to achieve my goal and win here again. But being second is not too bad overall. Now I look forward to flying home after two long weeks and relaxing a bit with my family, ready to come back stronger in Brazil and go for the win there. I think the Interlagos track suits our car much better, so I'm looking forward to going there and seeing what we can do.
Sebastian Vettel:
Today I think we did everything right, we had a very good pace. I think we could have even done better with a better position in Qualifying, but we can't change yesterday. We were very positive going into the day today, we knew that the speed was there, so we had good confidence for the race. We made the tires last longer than anybody else. We were quicker, so we put Verstappen under pressure: for sure it was not easy to pass, but he did a mistake, cut the track and didn't give the position back even if he was told to do so. About the fight with Daniel: I respect him a lot, it is never ideal when you touch. On my defense, I was fighting hard, and trying to give him some space, which I think I did.
Kimi Raikkonen:
My start was not too bad and we were running quite ok. After the first pit stop, though, I struggled to get any good grip with the Mediums, so we thought maybe we should try and see if we could go back on track with a new set of the same tires: but to be honest I had no better grip at the rear. It was the first time I was running with these tires, maybe it's just how the tire is. Afterwards it's easy to say that probably it was not the right thing to do, but I'm happy that we tried. It was not easy to pass Hulkenberg, it's difficult when you get close and you have no grip. I don't know if we touched, I just saw him spin.
Felipe Massa:
It was a really difficult race. I was really happy with the first lap because I made a lot of overtakes and got up to sixth. I stopped to put on the medium tyres and suffered on the first 15 laps with those, the same as in practice. Then, lap-by-lap I picked up the grip and fought for the whole race with Perez. It was really difficult to keep in front, but I pushed to the end and I'm so happy with the result. Even if we lost one point, we will keep fighting them, and that's what we're going to do until the last race of the season. I'm really looking forward to my next race at home, just being there and being with the Brazilian people will be amazing. I always try to fly the flag of my country as high as I can. I love my country and will never forget how special that weekend will be. I'm trying to enjoy all these amazing races recently, but I'm sure Brazil will be the best. To the Mexican fans - gracias. Thank you very much for all your support and I will never forget this weekend. It's amazing to see how much you love Formula One and motorsport. You will always be inside my heart.
Valtteri Bottas:
As a team we did a good job today, with a strategy and tactics that worked as good as we could have hoped. We managed to make the one-stop strategy work, which was helped by perfect timing with the pitstops. Unfortunately Force India still have a bit more pace than us and that is why one of them was ahead of us today. Our battle with them is very close and we just need to make sure that we do an even better job next time in Brazil.
Daniel Ricciardo:
"Obviously I'm happy to get the points and I think that means third for me in the Drivers' Championship so I'm quite proud of that this year. Sure it would have been nice to get up on the podium and enjoy it but none the less that was the situation today. It was a fun race. Even though I was quite frustrated after the race with the incident and all that, I still had a lot of fun with that battle. And being the hunter at the end is so much more fun than driving around by yourself. The race came alive and obviously it became a bit spicy but it was a cool day. Sure I want to race and having penalties after the race isn't ideal, but I did feel today that it was called for. I committed to the move and he squeezed me. Racing should be tough and l don't expect being waved through but we talked about the moving under braking and that's on paper now. The only thing I'm disappointed of is not to be in the stadium in that moment but the podium is still up so I'll go and have a few photos with the guys."
Max Verstappen:
"When I went off the track towards the end I think it was pretty similar to Lewis on lap one, corner one. He went off and I felt he gained an advantage, I didn't even gain an advantage, I was ahead going into braking and when I came back on the track I was the same distance in front so I don't understand the penalty. I think it was a small bit of justice that the stewards made the decision to penalise Seb. It was clearly a wrong move which has been punished according to the rules. As long as we can stick to the rules every week then we won't have the frustration we felt after the race. I'm really happy for Daniel to get on the podium after a strong drive and it's a great result for the team. It makes our second position in the Constructors' Championship that little bit closer and I believe it confirms Daniel as P3 in the Drivers' Championship. After a bit of stress we end the weekend with smiles all round. I could have done with a few more laps on the supersoft to get me closer to overtaking Nico, but at the end of the day we were always going to struggle to overtake here due to straight line speed. At the end of the day the Mexican fans have been amazing once again, the atmosphere and noise was great."
Nico Hulkenberg:
"Definitely not a bad effort today and the best result we could hope for in regular circumstances. I made a great start, but once the pit stops were out of the way, it turned out to be quite a lonely afternoon for me. This allowed me to manage my tyres and my pace. At the end, the battle with Kimi [Raikkonen] was always going to be difficult, because he had a massive tyre advantage over me: I was surprised we could keep him behind for so long. I tried to defend as hard as I could on the inside, but braking on a dirty line with 60-lap-old tyres is quite tricky! He turned in on me and there was no way I could stop the car, so I forced it into a spin to avoid a crash. In the end, it was a good weekend: qualifying was my highlight and we've come away with a solid result today. We leave Mexico having strengthened our fourth place in the constructors' championship, so there is plenty to smile about tonight."
Sergio Perez:
"Even though I scored a point today, it was a very frustrating race being stuck behind the Williams cars and unable to overtake. I tried everything I could, but it's not easy because they had a straight-line speed advantage. There were a few occasions when I was very close to making the move stick on Felipe [Massa], but in the end it just wasn't possible. I think maybe we could have tried something different with the strategy because we underestimated the effect of the medium tyre, which turned out to have much more life than we expected. So perhaps we could have pitted earlier and run longer on the medium. That's something we need to analyse and understand if it would have made a difference to our result. Even with the tenth place today the fans were cheering for me. They are so loyal; always behind me and they have given me so much positive energy all week. Although I wanted to give them a better result, this has still been the most enjoyable race of the year."
Kevin Magnussen:
"Last weekend a late stint on the super soft tyres worked really well for us but today it wasn't the same story. We just didn't seem to have the outright pace we needed on any of the tyres we used. It was a frustrating race for me. My first set of soft tyres dropped away as we expected but then we didn't seem to be able to maintain the pace on the medium tyres so we changed strategy to the super softs, but by then we were too far behind. I'm hoping that we can have a much better race in Brazil."
Jolyon Palmer:
"I think fourteenth is as good as we could have got from starting at the back, so I'm happy! I had some really good fights with the McLaren guys, which was good fun, and 70 laps on one set of tyres is probably some sort of record... It was a bit of a challenge but in the end we were still going okay; we were quick enough to keep our competitors behind. All in all, I'm pretty happy with today."
Daniil Kvyat:
"I'm quite happy with my race today, even if we finished P18 - I enjoyed a few very nice battles, did a couple of overtakes and had some fun. If I say the truth, I'd say that our pace today was just too slow to fight for higher positions, unfortunately. Regarding the 5-second penalty I was given, I have to say that there's just no consistency with these penalties... I disagree with mine, even though I will review the race and maybe then I change my opinion. We now have two more races left and we will try and do our best, you never know what can happen."
Carlos Sainz Jr:
"It just wasn't our day today... What a tough afternoon! During the laps to the grid I already felt that there was something wrong with the gearbox while downshifting, as well as with the brakes that kept overheating from the first lap onwards - we didn't have the pace today and these issues didn't help. If to all this you also add a 5-second penalty for impeding Fernando during Lap 1... It just became a very difficult race from the very start and it meant we were never going to finish in the points unfortunately. It's a shame, because we had a very good day yesterday, but this is racing and finishes like last Sunday in Austin don't happen every day!"
Marcus Ericsson:
"It was a strong race today. The collision at the start was unfortunate, and, to be honest, I was worried that it was going to be the end of my race after I was hit. I managed to get back to the pits to fit a new front wing. We also saw on the data that the car's floor had been damaged. We kept on going, and I managed to get back into the rhythm, so the pace was still good. Today we were close to the points, but just not close enough. We as a team take a lot of positives from this weekend. It shows again that we are taking steps in the right direction. We will fight back in Brazil."
Felipe Nasr:
"As I started the race on medium tyres, I was the only car on the grid to take an aggressive strategy. It was looking good on the first lap, as I was able to gain some positions, and also some of the competitors had started on soft tyres. I think I was unlucky with the safety car phase, which closed everybody back up together into a group. That did not help my strategy, but sometimes this is racing. Besides that, I had a damaged front wing as well as a turning vane, which compromised the lap times. Now it is time to think about the next race in Brazil. It is always a great feeling getting back home and racing in Interlagos."
Fernando Alonso:
"I guess we could have done a little bit better today, but unfortunately on the first lap we seemed always to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We also had a small incident, which put us in a difficult position as we were in traffic for the remainder of the race, as we sat behind Carlos [Sainz] for 40 laps or so.
"We also had a small problem in our second pit-stop, which didn't help. We had one tyre that lasted a long, long time and another that lasted much less long, so Jenson and I went for different strategies, but, even so, neither of us finished in the points.
"At the end of the day, when you have the pace everything is easier, so that's what we need to focus on."
Jenson Button
"We did a one-stop strategy, but the problem for us - for everyone, I think - was that you just couldn't overtake. We lost so much time in the first 30 laps of the stint on the Back-Up [tyres] in traffic behind other cars. I was stuck behind Kevin [Magnussen], then Fernando, then Carlos, and then [Jolyon] Palmer. It was really difficult to overtake but I eventually got past them all - our pace was really good then - and we did as well as we could have done. Even if we'd had clear air ahead of us I still don't think we could have finished 10th though.
"The actual pace was good during the race, as I say, and I had some fun out there overtaking, and enjoyed some good fights, but it's just so difficult to pass here. You wouldn't think so with such a long straight, but out of the last corner you just can't stay close. When you do get past, you suddenly find the time, but in the process you've lost so much compared with the people who stopped on lap one.
"We could have stopped on lap one ourselves, but, when you're in 12th or 13th place, it's not a great position, but it's also not a bad enough position to say 'let's take a gamble' when you're potentially on the edge of the points.
"All in all, it was a really unusual race, and it's a pity because we could have finished a lot higher up had we gambled, but you don't know that in advance. It was still a fun race for me and I definitely got the best out of the car today - and that's all you can hope for."
Pascal Wehrlein:
Pascal, clearly a heart-breaking end to your race today, after such a fantastic weekend, especially that qualifying performance.
Pascal Wehrlein: "I couldn't believe it. It was heart-breaking, yes. We had a chance at a really strong race today and for that opportunity to be ripped away before we'd even begun was difficult to take. I got a great start, gained two places and I was up to 14th - then it was over."
Tell us what happened?
PW: "I was in front and when I turned in, Gutierrez hit me from behind. That's it. The impact launched me into the air and that pushed me into Marcus Ericsson. My suspension was broken and my race was over. I was on the outside, leaving a lot of space and that is a left and right chicane. I don't understand why you would risk so much there when it's such a long race."
Small comfort, but it's been an incredible weekend for you, with so many positives?
PW: "Yes, it's not the end to the weekend we deserved, but there are only good things to say about practice, qualifying and the way the team has performed here. We need to keep working at this level because from where I ended up watching the race, it made for very uncomfortable viewing. We have to do everything possible to secure our championship position and ensure that our result in Austria counts."
Esteban Ocon:
Esteban, tough race for you, at the end of a challenging weekend.
"Yes, Mexico won't go down as one of my favourite races of the season so far, which is a shame, because it's a great track and an amazing Formula 1 venue. Actually today was not as bad as the rest of the weekend by comparison, but we never really did overcome the problems we have experienced with the way my car was handling. In the end, I was just glad we made it to the finish."
7 races down, 2 to go. How will you approach the remaining races of your debut season?
"I hope the problems of the weekend were specific to this event. With a bit more investigation I'm sure we can understand them a little better and things will be back to normal for Brazil. This was a tense race for the team. There was nothing more I could have done today, especially as 20 other cars finished the race, so we need to make sure that in the next two races we're in a more stable position and better placed to create or respond to opportunities."
Romain Grosjean:
"We tried to change a few parts to analyze what was going wrong, but we really haven't found the problem yet. The car was just nowhere today. It was very difficult to handle and to drive. We didn't get anything right. We're experiencing inconsistency with lots of oversteer and understeer. I never knew what I was going to get out there. The car was pulling on the left under braking. It felt weird. It was just a very difficult day."
Esteban Gutierrez:
"It was an incredible experience. We were pushing all the way, pushing all the limits we could with the car we had. I had to take care of the brakes as we were struggling with the cooling of them, so I had to brake a lot earlier than I would have liked to. This wasn't ideal when trying to fight your way up the grid, but it's the only thing we could do to finish the race. I wish we could have been able to deliver something better this weekend but, unfortunately, we were not able to this time. However, it was an amazing weekend - racing in my home country in front of all the Mexican people - and I really want to thank them because they've really made it a race to remember."
