29/10/2017
NEWS STORY
While last week in Austin we admitted that for selfish reasons we wanted to see the title fight kept alive, this week we're hoping to see Lewis finally put the thing to bed.
Fact is, and we say this as animal lovers, it is time to put the prancing horse out of its misery. It is time to say 'goodbye old girl, you gave it your best shot', and let the faithful servant go to that great grass filled paddock in the sky.
Then, in anticipation of a younger, more reliable stallion appearing in 2018 - maybe even with a little help from Mercedes - let Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel have some fun in the remaining races and give us a glimpse of what might have been.
Yesterday's pole-winning lap showed that Seb and Ferrari still have it, but to overcome a 66 point deficit... even if it was on merit everyone would scream the fix was in, especially based on Bernie Ecclestone's comments over the last 48 hours.
And let's not forget, Lewis is the only driver to have completed all 999 laps the previous 17 races have comprised, so if he were to suddenly develop reliability issues...
Pending the stewards decision on Verstappen yesterday, at the end of the session Hamilton said: "We'll see what happens with Max, but I'm hoping that I get to at least have a battle with one of them."
And that just about sums up our feelings. Let's put the title thingy aside, Lewis has won that and deservingly so. Now let's see the guy have some fun and some good old fashioned elbows out, wheel-to-wheel, door-to-door(?) racing. After all, all three are clearly up for it.
Fellow Finns Bottas and Raikkonen could provide some fun and games also today, while the fight behind promises to be absolutely frenzied, what with the Pink Panthers now seemingly allowed to race one another - Perez particularly fired up on home soil - not to mention an ever improving Renault, Williams and that man Alonso.
The Haas duo look for a tough afternoon, Grosjean appearing to be near to tears following yesterday's session.
Meanwhile spare a thought for Toro Rosso's drivers; Brendon Hartley incurring a grid penalty for the second successive weekend and Pierre Gasly, who also has a grid penalty, having completed just a handful of laps over the entire weekend thus far. Talk about baptism by fire.
Indeed, both drivers are consigned to the back of the grid, where they will join not only the McLaren duo but Daniel Ricciardo, who is sure to provide some entertainment over the course of the afternoon.
Much like Japan, the atmosphere and passion in Mexico is infectious and its genuine, something that Liberty Media would do well to take note of.
Last year's race will forever be remembered for Verstappen's antics which in turn led to the infamous 'message to Charlie' from Vettel. Will this year's race be even half as much fun?
Sadly, the one damper on it all - and it won't be the weather gods - is the fact that low degradation means it's likely to be a one-stopper once again.
A one-stopper is going to be the most effective strategy for this afternoon's 71-lap race, confirms Pirelli, starting on the ultrasofts and running for 30-34 laps, before switching to supersofts.
The Italian manufacturer suggests a two-stopper is possible, with two 25-lap stints on ultrasofts and one on supersofts.
Should there be a safety car - and history points to this being the case - or a driver gets stuck in traffic, a one-stopper with an opening stint of 16 laps on ultrasofts and a second on softs could work.
Of course, as much as we might salivate at the prospect of Vettel, Verstappen and Hamilton going head-to-head, there remains the little matter of that long drag to the first corner - at 0.497 miles (800m) the longest on the calendar - and then the first corner itself.
Let's not forget the last time Seb and Max started from the front row.
The pitlane opens and the drivers start heading out.
Air temperature is 21 degrees C, while the track temperature is 41 degrees.
"Leaving the garage I had no power when I touched the pedal," reports Hamilton. "OK, we'll have a look," comes the cheery reply.
A minute's silence in respect of the victims of the recent earthquake, is followed by the national anthem, sung brilliantly by a small boy with big lungs and a big heart.
As the field prepares to head off on the warm-up lap, the air temperature remains at 21 degrees C, while the track temperature is now 42 degrees. It is bright and sunny with 0% chance of rain.
All are starting on the ultrasofts bar Grosjean and Alonso who are on supersofts.
They're away. Vettel gets away well, as does Hamilton. Verstappen moves across to cover the Briton as Raikkonen comes up on the outside.
Racing into T1 they're three abreast, while Raikkonen has fallen back and Bottas now up to fourth.
In T1 Verstappen and Vettel are side by side, they touch and tyre smoke fills the air. But while the German has the inside, the Dutch youngster is on the inside for T2. Sure enough the Red Bull is through. Meanwhile, Hamilton comes through and looks as if he's going to pass the pair of them around the outside of T3.
Rounding T3, Verstappen leads and while Hamilton is in second the rear of the Mercedes touches Vettel's wing... now carbonfibre fills the air. While Vettel continues his pursuit of the leader, though having clearly incurred damage, Bottas is now ahead of the Ferrari. Meanwhile, Hamilton has dropped back, the Mercedes having suffered a puncture in the melee.
"I've got a flat tyre," reports Hamilton. "Box, box, box, box," he is told.
"Simply simply lovely," the Dutchman purrs over the radio as he leaves his rivals behind.
There are bound to be questions but in all honesty it looked like a racing incident, three into one won't go and never will. Vettel had too much to lose to be accused of doing anything silly, while Hamilton only needs to finish in the leading five.
Verstappen leads Bottas, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Perez, Massa, Raikkonen, Stroll and Ricciardo.
Vettel pits, taking on a new nose, while Hamilton also stops. They rejoin the race in 19th (Vettel) and 20th.
"Did he hit me deliberately," asks Hamilton. "Not sure," comes the reply.
Out front, Verstappen sets a blistering pace already leading Bottas by 1.924s.
Sainz pits at the end of lap 2 having picked up a puncture. Rejoining in 19th ahead of Hamilton.
Ricciardo is already up to 8th, the Australian taking no prisoners.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico, here.
At the end of lap 3 Massa pits, like Sainz, the Williams driver having suffered a puncture.
Lap 3 sees a fastest lap from Verstappen as he extends his lead to 2.7s, further back Ricciardo closes on Raikkonen.
Ricciardo pits at the end of lap 5 but it's clear it's not scheduled. Up flips the visor as the Australian prepares to be pushed into his garage.
Verstappen's pace is remorseless as he posts fastest lap after fastest lap.
Behind Verstappen it's Bottas, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Perez, Raikkonen, Strol, Magnussen, Ericsson and Vandoorne.
The first lap incident involving Verstappen, Vettel and Hamilton has been noted say the stewards.
Vettel is up to 16th and hard on the heels of Massa, while Hamilton remains 19th (of 19).
Alonso and Grosjean touch as the Spaniard makes a move in the podium. Stand by for some moaning.
The stewards announce that no investigation is necessary following that first lap incident.
As Vettel barges his way past Massa, the stewards are investigating for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his duel with Alonso. The Spaniard is far from happy.
"We need the position immediately because it changes the race," he says. "Please, please race director, look at the race please. Please. Please it's very clear, I'm losing the race here."
Vettel is unhappy with Massa for forcing him wide but it appeared the Brazilian had no choice. "Are we just pushing each other of the track?" asks Vettel. "Seriously, I had my nose ahead!" The German is told to focus.
Grosjean is given a 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. That will at least make Alonso happy, not so the Haas driver.
Now 15th, Vettel closes on Gasly. The German makes short work of the Frenchman and sets off after the (Ferrari powered) Grosjean.
While Grosjean received a penalty for running wide, the incident involving him and Alonso does not warrant further investigation.
A new fastest lap from Verstappen (20.898) as the Red Bull driver builds a 6.121s comfort cushion.
Vettel sweeps by Grosjean and sets off after Hartley who is 3.1s up the road.
Perez is the first driver to make a scheduled pit stop - at the end of lap 18 - rejoining in 8th on softs.
Next time around Hulkenberg pits as Hamilton complains getting past these guys (Sainz) "is difficult".
Ocon pits at the end of lap 20, responding to his teammate. He rejoins in 5th.
Vettel passes Hartley, as Verstappen prepares to lap Hamilton. Indeed, the world champion elect gets a blue flag, and he isn't happy about it. Nonetheless he allows the Red Bull through.
As Hulkenberg complains of power issues, Vettel hunts down Vandoorne. Quickly disposing of the youngster the German knows his next target will not be quite so obliging. Mr Fernando Alonso.
"I can't get close to a car," Hamilton reports.
Hamilton is lapped by his Mercedes teammate.
Out come the yellows as Hulkenberg pulls to the side of the track, his fourth retirement in five races.
"Stop the car, stop the car," the German is told. "The car is not safe, the car is not safe, you need to get out by climbing on to the front of the car and jumping off," suggesting it is a KERS issue.
As Alonso closes on 8th placed Ericsson, Vettel closes in on the pair of them.
Hamilton finally passes Sainz to take 17th. The Briton reports that he doesn't feel his rear tyres will last. "That's not a problem," he is told, "we have a plan". Ah, but is it a cunning plan?
Verstappen reports he can see some (front) blistering. However, he is assured that all is OK.
Ericsson pits at the end of lap 29, the Swede dropping to 15th in the process.
Hamilton passes Wehrlein to take 16th.
The crowd cheers as Perez passes Magnussen for 6th.
Meanwhile, Vettel has passed Alonso, the German passing the McLaren with ease on the straight.
Next up for Vettel is the Ferrari powered Sauber of Magnussen.
A new fastest lap from Vettel (20.698).
A great move by Gasly on Grosjean as Massa keeps a watching eye.
"I'm losing a lot of power," reports Hartley, who is told to stop the car. The Kiwis responds and parks up, albeit in a great cloud of smoke.
The VSC is deployed.
Verstappen, Bottas, Magnussen, Gasly, Hamilton and Sainz all pit. As do Raikkonen and Grosjean. In the process Raikkonen leapfrogs Ocon.
Stroll, Vettel and Alonso all pit next time around. The German switches to ultras.
The VSC is withdrawn, Verstappen leads Bottas, Raikkonen, Ocon, Stroll, Perez, Magnussen, Vettel, Alonso and Massa. Hamilton is 16th.
The times tumble, as Bottas and then Raikkonen and Vettel (20.116) up the pace.
Hamilton makes easy meat of Grosjean as Massa is shown a succession of blue flags as Verstappen slices through the field.
Verstappen responds to Vettel with a 19.592 as he builds a 9.093s lead.
As Vettel sweeps past Magnussen the crowd roars its approval. However the German's next target is Perez who is 17.1s up the road.
Now 12.58s up on Bottas, Verstappen is told he only needs to cover the Finn's times. "So I can take it easy," he replies.
"That was the same lap time as the previous lap," Verstappen is told. "I'm really sorry," he laughs.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico, here.
Hamilton finally passes Gasly to take 13th, as 8th placed Magnussen is the latest to be shown the blue flags.
Shadowing Ericsson, Hamilton errs on the side of caution as he follows the Sauber.
"Very good pace, keep pushing like this," Vettel is told.
Hamilton finally passes Ericsson in T1.
Vettel closes up on the rear of Perez, and at the end of lap 49 (of 71), he's just 0.642s down on the Panther.
Brave, brave stuff under braking sees Vettel nail Perez in T4. In the Force India garage, Sergio's dad is not happy. The Mexican subsequently pits for ultrasofts.
Next up for Vettel is Stroll who is 2.6s up the road, with Ocon a further 3.8.
There's nothing Vandoorne can do as Hamilton closes in, the Mercedes sweeping through to claim 11th. The speed difference between the Mercedes and McLaren clearly noticeable.
A DRS enabled Vettel passes Stroll to take 5th, as Ocon becomes the next target.
A new fastest lap from Vettel, the German stopping the clock at 19.516 on ultrasofts that are 24 laps old.
As Vettel lines up Ocon, the mathematics is simple, after the Force India he has a 22.9s deficit to make up in order to pass his teammate then a further 26s in order to catch Bottas.
Hamilton asks about Vettel's progress. Told Vettel needs to finish second, the Briton asks: "Is that possible?" "Negative," comes the reply. "Valtteri is currently holding the position."
As Ericsson enters the pits with smoke billowing from his car, Hamilton makes a great move on Massa to move into the points.
Vettel passes Ocon with ease to begin the task of closing down his Ferrari teammate who is 24s up the road.
What position am I?" asks Hamilton. He told he's P10 but can get P8.
Vettel asks how far Kimi is ahead. When told it's 24 seconds, he asks to hear the gap again. Told a second time, he replies "Mama Mia!"
Yet another Renault retirement as Sainz pits and is pushed into his garage. Which leaves Gasly and a certain Mr Verstappen as the only remaining Renault powered cars.
Hamilton continues to ask about Vettel's progress.
After 63 laps, it's: Verstappen, Bottas, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ocon, Stroll, Perez, Magnussen, Alonso and Hamilton.
As Grosjean pits for a set of ultras, Bottas goes quickest in S2.
Ahead of Hamilton, Alonso is battling Magnussen.
Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (18.892).
Hamilton makes a move on Alonso but the Spaniard will not yield, much to the delight of the crowd. The Briton drops back, unwilling to take any unnecessary risks.
Stroll closes on Ocon as Perez begins to reel in the Canadian youngster.
Again Hamilton makes his move, and again Alonso refuses to surrender. The battle continues and finally the Briton is through. Wheel to wheel, they touch, and even though he's been passed the Spaniard tries to retake the position.
Alonso queries whether Hamilton's pass was legal. He is told it was hard but fair. "Good racing, fair racing," he is told.
Meanwhile, still 16.6s down on his teammate, Vettel posts a new fastest lap.
Verstappen takes the flag, a fine, well-deserved victory, but further back it is Hamilton who claims the title, his ninth (and Vettel's fourth) enough to settle it once and for all.
As Verstappen climbs from his car in the stadium, Hamilton, still on his cool down lap, slows to pick up a union flag from a marshal. Vettel pulls alongside to applaud the Briton.
Verstappen wins, ahead of Bottas, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ocon, Stroll, Perez, Magnussen, Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, Vandoorne, Gasly, Wehrlein and Grosjean.
"It's not the race we wanted, but who cares," says Toto Wolff over the radio. "Niki, Lewis, Niki Lewis, thank you, thank you, thank you, four time world champion," adds Niki Lauda.
Hamilton makes his wat back to the stadium, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding his flag aloft. The Briton thanks his team.
He also thanks the fans with a few donuts. Mmmm.
While MC David Coulthard wants to get the world champion's thoughts, the Briton is more intent on running to his team.
Having thanks the team, the best fans in the world etc, Hamilton admits: "I don't really know what happened at Turn 3, I gave him plenty of room." "I tried as hard as I could to come back," he adds.
Asked if this title is different, he says he didn't think about it. "But this isn't the kind of race that you want, when you're 40 seconds behind, but I never gave up and that's what's important."
"The start was crucial," says Verstappen, "I went around the outside and that worked out well, so basically after that I was looking after the tyres and the car.
"After last week, this is the perfect race," he grins. "I was cruising; it was great. From the start I just pulled away and did my race."
As Hamilton runs around the infield of the stadium, waving his flag, Bottas congratulates his teammate and the team, like countryman Raikkonen, who finished third, it was a long, lonely afternoon.
"The initial start wasn't too bad," says The Iceman, "I was alongside Valtteri, but all the guys behind got a massive tow, and I was left alone and then the people behind me managed to tow back and it was a disaster after that, but had some patience and once the guys in front stopped we had the speed to improve, but after that not a lot happened."
As the actual podium celebrations get underway, Hamilton is doing a Forrest Gump running and running and running, making his way through the fans back to his garage.
In all reality a processional race that was decided at the first corner, and though Vettel kept us guessing it was clear that those last couple of positions were out of reach. And even then, the German would have needed a similar set of circumstances in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
If not the King, then the old horse is dead, let's now head to the wonderful Interlagos circuit where hopefully the guys will give us a real race.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico, here.