Source: Mercedes-Benz Archive

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Lewis Hamilton wins the 2018 Formula 1 Championship in Mexico!

Lewis Hamilton wins the 2018 Formula 1 Championship in Mexico!

28-10-2018 20:52
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Lewis Hamilton has won his fifth drivers' championship in Mexico, as the Brit finished fourth, mathematically eliminating Sebastian Vettel from the title race as Max Verstappen won the fifth race of his career.

Verstappen took the lead from his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the first turn of the race and never let go of it, m's eaning it's the fifth win of the Dutchman's young career and his second consecutive win in Mexico.

Hamilton's title now takes him up to five championships, drawing him level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, who also won five titles back in the 50's.

The Brit only finished fourth in the race itself and fell outside of the podium, but he only needed six more points to confirm the title scrap to be over.

The rest of the podium was filled by Vettel in second and Kimi Raikkonen third, with Ferrari edging closer in the constructors' championship compared to Mercedes.

How it happened

Hamilton had an amazing start as the lights went out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Brit immediately zoomed past pole position holder Daniel Ricciardo, who didn't have a good start at all, and so did Max Verstappen, who held his ground on the inside of the first corner to make Hamilton yield. Verstappen emerged in first place from the first chicane, Hamilton second, Ricciardo third.

Mercedes' strategy was not good at all on the day. Lewis Hamilton was on super-softs after his pitstop, but he instantly reported heavy graining on the compound, getting him in big trouble. Vettel passed him with a nice move down the end of the straight, and so did Ricciardo as Hamilton locked up, prompting him to go back into the pit lane again. He came out on used ultra-softs, something which he complained about on team radio as he wasn't making up ground with his fresh tyres.

Then, disaster struck. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but for Ricciardo, it's struck for eight times now. Yet another mechanical failure for the Aussie saw him pull over to the side of the road as he was back in second place behind race leader Max Verstappen. It got Vettel back in second place, 15 seconds behind Verstappen.

But it didn't matter, as Vettel couldn't make up 15 seconds in eight laps to finish first, something which he needed to do to not lose the title fight to Hamilton. And even if he did, Hamilton was fourth, which is enough for him to seal it even if Vettel would have won the race.