After Kimi Raikkonen won a thrilling US Grand Prix and kept Lewis Hamilton’s fifth World Championship celebrations on hold, round 19 of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the famous Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico this weekend for the Formula 1 2018 Gran Premio De Mexico. This will be the 20^th time that Mexico will be hosting a Grand Prix and the eighteenth as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

 

 

A look at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

 

 

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a permanent racing circuit located in Mexico City, Mexico named after famous racing drivers and brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez. The circuit was built in 1962 within the public park of Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in southeast Mexico City and hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix the same year as a non-championship round. The following year the Mexican Grand Prix became a full World Championship event. The circuit remained part of the calendar through until 1970 when spectator overcrowding caused unsafe conditions and was dropped from the calendar for 15 years. When the track re-opened and Formula 1 returned from 1986-1992, it boasted a new pit building complex, as well as improved safety all around. Eventually as race speeds increased, the number of serious accidents grew and demands for further safety improvements were made. The organisers were faced with financial difficulties and could not meet the demands needed to keep it on the calendar and was again dropped. In August 2011 with the rise of Mexican drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez, it revived plans to bring Grand Prix racing back to Mexico with tycoon Carlos Slim proposing a revived Mexican Grand Prix.

 

In May 2012, it was announced that the circuit again will host a Grand Prix from 2013 in a five-year deal to replace Valencia but this did not happen. It was then listed as the 19^th round of the 2014 championship on the provisional calendar but was not finalised on the schedule. In July 2014, it was then announced by Bernie Ecclestone that the Mexican Grand Prix will return starting in 2015 on a 5- year deal.

 

The Grand Prix circuit underwent major renovations from circuit designer Hermann Tilke for the return of Formula 1 in 2015. The front straight was slightly extended and modified to incorporate a new media centre and paddock. The iconic Esses between turns 7 and 13 were significantly changed with the prolific, high radius turns largely diminished and some replaced with fixed angle turns. The baseball field portion of the track was also altered to accommodate a low speed left-right combination that bypassed the first half of the famous Peraltada, allowing the cars to re-enter the Peraltada halfway through the corner.

 

The circuit has the highest altitude of any Formula One event on the calendar all year and this affects aerodynamics as well as top speed. On the 1.3 kilometre main straight, the 1.6L turbocharged V6 era cars will exceed 330kph.

 

The current Grand Prix circuit is 4.304km (2.674mi) in length with 17 corners and runs in a clockwise direction.

 

Race distance is 305.354km (190.846mi) in length with 71 laps in total.

 

Sebastian Vettel holds the fastest lap record at the Mexican Grand Prix with a 1:18.785 set at last year’s event with his Scuderia Ferrari SF70H.

 

Jim Clark holds the record of most Mexican Grand Prix victories with three.

 

Team Lotus are the most successful constructor at the Mexican Grand Prix with four victories.

 

The last five Mexican Grand Prix winners

 

 

2017: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2016: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 1992: Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault. 1991: Riccardo Patrese, Williams-Renault.

 

Tyres

 

 

Pirelli will be bringing with them to Mexico, the pink side-walled Hypersofts, the purple-branded Ultrasofts and the red-marked Supersofts along with the green-marked Intermediate and blue-branded Full Wet tyre compounds in case of rain.

 

Title-rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will have identical tyre choices at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with eight sets of hypersofts, three ultrasofts and two supersofts.

 

The entire grid has preferred the hypersoft compound as the tyre of choice for the weekend with Renault and Sauber selecting ten sets of the faster rubber available of the 13 allocated sets.

 

As normal, one set of the hypersofts must be set aside for use in Q3, while the ultrasoft or supersoft must be run for at least one stint during the Grand Prix, as long as dry conditions prevail.

 

DRS Zones

At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez there will be two DRS Zones, with the detection point between turns 14 and 15 with the first activation point on the main straight with the second activation zone between turns 3 and 4 on the second straight.

 

Pitlane Speed Limits

Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

 

ICYMI: US GP Rewind – Raikkonen wins spectacular race as Hamilton’s title celebrations are put on hold

 

 

Kimi Raikkonen ends his 113 winless drought to claim an edge-of-your-seat victory at the Circuit of the Americas whilst the title-fight between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel continues on at next weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

 

Raikkonen flew past pole-sitter Hamilton at the start and kept his cool under pressure at the end from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who started 18^th and the Briton to clinch a breakthrough win in his second stint with the Scuderia and grabbed the top step of the podium for the first time since the 2013 season-opening Australian Grand Prix for Lotus.

 

“It’s been a great weekend; the car has been pretty good all the time.” explained Raikkonen. “Obviously I’m much happier than finishing second. It was a great and good battle, that’s what we all want as drivers and the people here.”

 

Second would have given Hamilton the championship and he went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen with three laps remaining, but the Mercedes driver could not make it stick, running off the track at the sweeping turn 18.

 

Vettel’s fourth place, after putting on another recovery drive and passing Valtteri Bottas late on means that Hamilton leads the Driver’s Championship by 69 points with 75 still available at the final three Grands Prix.

 

Hamilton came to Austin needing to outscore Vettel by eight points to clinch his fifth World Championship.

 

When the US Grand Prix began, Hamilton got a great start off the line, but Raikkonen’s Ferrari charged past the Mercedes into the first corner, and half a lap later the momentum swung in the Briton’s favour when Vettel spun and fell to 15^th.

 

Vettel flew past Daniel Ricciardo with ease on the back straight but made a mistake under braking at turn 12 and the Australian cut back on the exit of the tight left-hander.

 

This gave Vettel the inside line for turn 13 but the German had a small jiggle, touched the Red Bull and spun.

 

Raikkonen held Hamilton at bay until the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car lead to Ferrari and Mercedes opting for different strategies.

 

With the race equalised as Ricciardo’s RB14 racer was recovered by the marshals at the exit of the turn 11 hairpin, the Silver Arrows told Hamilton to do the opposite of Raikkonen under the VSC and the Briton dived into the pits, adopting a two-stop strategy.

 

Hamilton emerged in third place and nine seconds behind Raikkonen, and within three laps was handed second from Mercedes team-mate Bottas who slowed down on the main straight to let him by.

 

On the 18^th lap, Hamilton was right behind Raikkonen, but the Finn resisted the pressure of the quicker Mercedes before pitting, which proved to be the crucial factor later on.

 

Vettel remained on track before pitting on lap 26, dropping places to team-mate Raikkonen and Verstappen – who made an impressive charge through the pack on his first stint on the more durable soft rubber – as the German struggled with degrading tyres.

 

Raikkonen’s job was keep within 20 seconds of Hamilton while Vettel started to hunt Bottas down for fourth.

 

Hamilton’s 18 second gap was slowly deteriorating by Raikkonen as the Briton’s soft compounds continued to worsen, with third-placed Verstappen and Bottas easily making it within Hamilton’s pit stop window.

 

The Mercedes driver pitted from the lead on lap 39, which gave Raikkonen a 2.5 second gap over Verstappen, with Bottas a further 6.5 seconds and Hamilton in fourth, 12 seconds behind the leading Ferrari and 4.1 seconds clear of title-rival Vettel.

 

With fresh softs to his advantage, Hamilton immediately caught his Mercedes team-mate and was let past within two laps.

 

Hamilton was up into third and 8.8 seconds off the lead, but with Vettel stuck in fifth place and the Briton only needing to pass Verstappen who was 6.5 seconds in-front with 15 laps remaining to clinch the title.

 

He caught the back of the Dutchman with seven laps remaining but could not make the pass as their epic wheel-to-wheel battle lasted four corners.

 

Hamilton ran wide into the run-off area as he attempted to overtake the Red Bull through the sweeping turns 17-19 near the end of the lap.

 

Shortly afterwards, Vettel made his way past Bottas into the hairpin for fourth and lost just two points to Hamilton as the title fight continues into Mexico.

 

Behind the top five, Renault were best of the rest with Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz taking sixth and seventh respectively and received a much-needed boost in their quest to claim fourth in the Constructors Championship.

 

Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finished in eighth and tenth with Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen splitting the pairing in-between with the former being investigated by the stewards for an alleged fuel-flow issue.

 

Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley came home in 11^th place and in-front of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson who was 12^th and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne who takes 13^th.

 

The second Honda-powered Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly ended the race in 14^th and ahead of the two Williams of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll who were brought up the rear.

 

There were four retirements during the United States Grand Prix.

 

A while before Ricciardo’s retirement due to a mechanical failure, Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean’s races were ended early on the opening lap.

 

Alonso stopped in the pits after tangling with Stroll’s Williams through the entry of the esses, while Grosjean locked up and collided with Charles Leclerc’s Sauber into turn 12 at the end of the back straight.

 

Stroll was given a drive through penalty from his collision with Alonso, while Grosjean’s incident with Leclerc – which sent the Monegasque driver, who eventually retired from the race has been investigated by the stewards with Grosjean being given a three-grid place penalty for next weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix and one licence penalty point.

 

Grosjean is just two penalty points away from a one-race ban.

 

******UPDATE******Force India’s Ocon and Haas F1 Team’s Magnussen have been disqualified due to fuel use irregularities. Ocon’s VJM11 racer was found by the stewards on the telemetry data to have exceeded the mass fuel flow limit of 100kq/hr on the opening lap whilst Magnussen’s Haas VF-18 was found to have used more than the maximum of 105kg of fuel allowed during the Grand Prix.

 

The outcome has dealt a huge blow for both Force India and Haas in their hopes of beating their rivals in the Constructors Championship. Before the disqualifications, Haas lost a big amount to Renault in the battle for fourth place, with the Enstone-based outfit taking 14 points for their sixth and seventh places respectively.

 

Force India however, only lost one point in their fight with McLaren in the fight for sixth place in the standings with Perez – who finished in tenth, promoted to eighth in his team-mate’s original finishing position.

 

This means Haas are 22 points behind Renault and Force India 11 behind McLaren in the standings – with both Toro Rosso and Sauber gaining from Haas and Force India’s pain. Hartley originally finished 11^th but was promoted to ninth and Ericsson to tenth respectively.

 

How Hamilton can secure the title in Mexico

 

 

Lewis Hamilton just needs a seventh-placed finish at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix to claim his fifth World Championship crown.

 

After the Mercedes driver finished third and title-rival Sebastian Vettel wound up fourth in Texas, the championship-battle continues on in Mexico – although Hamilton is ever closer to wrapping it up early.

 

Hamilton needs five points over the final three Grands Prix to secure the title even if Vettel wins the last three.

 

The Briton needs to be 50 ahead of Vettel by the end of the Mexican Grand Prix to secure the championship with two races to spare.

 

Vettel needs to outscore Hamilton by 21 points this weekend to take the battle onto Brazil, meaning the German needs to win to have any chance.

 

However, if Vettel wins the race, Hamilton only needs five points to clinch the title. A seventh-placed finish, which gives you six points is more than enough.

 

• If Vettel wins the Mexican Grand Prix, Hamilton must finish seventh.
• If Vettel is second or lower in Mexico, Hamilton becomes the World Champion for a fifth time.

 

Hamilton is guaranteed to finish ahead of Vettel in a tie-breaking situation were they both to finish on level points at seasons end with Hamilton having nine victories to Vettel’s five with only three races remaining.

 

The Situation

 

 

Lewis Hamilton comes to Mexico sitting on top of the Driver’s Championship with 346 points and a 70-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel who is second on 276 points while Kimi Raikkonen is a further 125 points behind the Briton in third on 221 points.

 

Mercedes returns to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on top of the Constructors Championship with 563 points and a 66 point-lead over nearest rival Ferrari who are second on 497 points while Red Bull Racing are a further 266 behind the Silver Arrows in third on 337 points.

 

2018 Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship Standings

1. Lewis Hamilton – 346 Points.
2. Sebastian Vettel – 276 Points.
3. Kimi Raikkonen – 221 Points.
4. Valtteri Bottas – 217 Points.
5. Max Verstappen – 191 Points.
6. Daniel Ricciardo – 146 Points.
7. Nico Hulkenberg – 61 Points.
8. Sergio Perez – 57 Points.
9. Kevin Magnussen – 53 Points.
10. Fernando Alonso – 50 Points.

 

2018 Formula 1 World Constructors Championship Standings

1. Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport – 563 Points.
2. Scuderia Ferrari – 497 Points.
3. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing – 337 Points.
4. Renault Sport F1 Team – 106 Points.
5. Haas F1 Team – 84 Points.
6. McLaren-Renault F1 Team – 58 Points.
7. Racing Point Force India F1 Team – 47 Points.
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda – 32 Points.
9. Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team – 28 Points.
10. Williams Martini Racing – 7 Points.

 

The Formula 1 2018 Gran Premio De Mexico weekend begins Friday October 26 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday October 27 and the 71 lap Race Sunday October 28.