F1: Hamilton wins fifth title after finishing fourth
October 28, 2018
It wasn't an easy afternoon for Lewis Hamilton, but not even tire trouble or a great drive by Sebastian Vettel could stop him from winning his fifth drivers' championship.
Hamilton's success puts him in a prestigious Formula One club alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, with only seven-time champion Michael Schumacher ahead of him. Hamilton has now won championships in 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014 and 2008.
Max Verstappen won the race, and never looked like losing it, but all eyes were on Vettel and Hamilton. The Ferrari driver delivered a strong drive and worked hard to get into second but had to win to keep his title hopes alive.
Hamilton enjoyed a great start, nearly taking the lead at the first corner. But it quickly became clear that the Briton's tires weren't right and he needed two pitstops to stand even a chance of keeping up his pace. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said afterwards the team had had a very bad race, and that he was so upset with it that he didn't say anything to Hamilton on the radio afterwards.
A bad race, but a great day
In the end, it mattered not. Titles are not won in a day, and Hamilton had no problem settling for a cautious cruise in order to secure the title. Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished in third after Daniel Ricciardo, the man on pole, pulled up nine laps before the end.
Verstappen won his fifth career race 17.108 seconds ahead of Vettel. The Dutchman is fifth in the drivers' championship and is considered the future of the sport.
The present though is very much about Lewis Hamilton. The first black driver in Formula One and now a five time champion, Hamilton has become one of the all-time great drivers. After an emotional congratulation from Vettel, Hamilton said: "It's a very strange feeling, a very humbling experience. To complete this when Fangio did it as well, it's a very surreal feeling."
After that, he ran back to the Mercedes garage to embrace his teammates one by one.
With the constructors' championship still open, the last two races of the season still have an element of intrigue about them. Many F1 fans will already be looking ahead to next season and asking who, if anyone, can stop Hamilton.
As it happened:
LEWIS HAMILTON IS THE 2018 CHAMPION!
Max Verstappen wins the Mexico GP, but Hamilton's 4th placed-finish is enough to claim his fifth drivers' championship. Vettel finishes in second, but he had to win and that is that!
1. Verstappen 2. Vettel 3. Raikkonen
70/71 Two laps to go! It looks like Hamilton is about to make it number five, despite a great drive by Vettel.
69/71 Verstappen's engine has been turned down to keep the tires safe, but he has such a lead he should take this one home...
68/71 Shout out to Pierre Gasly who has climbed 10 spots into 10th today. Some of it his doing, some of it thanks to four cars being out of the race. He's the biggest climber though.
67/71 Bottas gets the fastest lap. Time is running out for Vettel's miracle, and he is 14.8 seconds behind Verstappen.
65/71 Verstappen is told if he needs to slow it down, then he should. He is keen not to lose it from here, understandably. Top five is:
1. Verstappen
2. Vettel
3. Raikkonen
4. Hamilton
5. Bottas
64/71 VRS ends a lap later. Vettel has seven laps to chase down the top spot and hope that Hamilton stops cruising. Verstappen is told to keep it simple and not risk much, such is his lead.
63/71 RICCIARDO OUT! Drama! The Aussie, who has battled hard today, but has smoke coming out of the chicane, and then the car just dies out on him. Vettel streams by to take second. VRS is out. Hamilton into fourth.
62/71 The end is approaching and now it looks like Hamilton is cruising a bit here, comfortable in the knowledge of what lies ahead rather than the frustration of today.
60/71 As it stands: Hamilton will win his fifth drivers' championship, Verstappen will win the race and Vettel will finish in third, having perhaps driven the best today.
58/71 More drama to come? Time for these drivers to make their move.
56/71 Vettel now has room as he gets past the traffic and closes in on Ricciardo! Ericsson gets in the way and prevents Vettel from taking the Aussie on the straight, but it's a battle now. There's also a battle down in 12th.
55/71 Vettel is being held up by traffic, which will delight Ricciardo. No space for him to work with really. Hamilton is now 15 seconds behind Verstappen and is still curious as to why his tires are so slow.
53/71 Hamilton is still unhappy. "Something's definitely not right." The Briton complains that if he's on fresh tires and still can't keep up... He has a point. Still, as it stands, he is fine and has the advantage of having teammate Bottas behind him.
53/71 VERSTAPPEN PITS! The Dutchman is still on supersofts and comes out still in first as well. He is loving Mexico. Ricciardo appears to be speeding up, which makes life harder for Vettel. Hamilton is still in fifth and so remains on course to win the world title.
51/71 HAMILTON ON THE GRASS! Drama here as Hamilton brakes to keep Ricciardo at bay, but has to glide across the grass as he locks up on the corner. He's still in the race though, but finally pits - "these tires are dead" and comes out in fifth on used ultras. Vettel also pits (goes to ultras) and can sense something special here. Verstappen still leads, Ricciardo now in second but Vettel is right behind him. Raikkonen and then Hamilton. That minimum seventh spot is closer than Hamilton probably wants it right about now.
44/71 Hamilton is angry. Here is what he just said on the radio: "I just did a 21.8, how has Daniel Ricciardo gained a second on that lap? You have given me the wrong tyres man. Big vibrations."
44/71 Vettel posts another fastest lap. He is flying, trying desperately to close the gap on Verstappen. In the meantime, Ricciardo is closing in on Hamilton too, encouraged by Vettel's ability to close in on him.
43/71 Vettel posts the fastest lap. He really has gone for it today, even if it won't be enough to stop Hamilton or catch Verstappen.
42/71 Perez is in trouble and heads to the pits. Not sure what happened there, but may be the brakes. Either way, he is out of the race and the home favorite won't finish the race on home turf.
40/71 VETTEL OVERTAKES HAMILTON! Vettel is really going for it. Down the home stretch, he slips inside on the first bend as Hamilton seems to almost give way, in recognition of the Ferrari's superior speed. He needs Hamilton to drop a few spots to stay in the title race, but still a nice moment for him there.
38/71 Here comes Vettel! The Ferrari man is closing in on Hamilton. What a drive from the German so far. Gone from 2.3 seconds behind to 1.4 after Vettel finishes the last lap a second faster than the Briton. Drama today!
36/71 Ericsson, Hartley and Ocon are battling it out for 13th. The reminder to Ricciardo is "I know we got f***** over there, but we need to look after the left front." Time to stay calm for the Aussie - no easy thing in this race.
34/71 VETTEL INTO THIRD! Great driving from the German as he uses the stretch to get level and then in the bend tucks inside to keep the line and force Ricciardo into fourth. The Aussie is frustrated with the drivers deep in the field (Perez and Leclerc) who aided Vettel's move by holding him up.
34/71 HALFWAY APPROACHING!
33/71 Hamilton wants to change his tires, but is told not yet. Verstappen is praised for staying calm. Vettel now just 0.721 off Ricciardo. VSC ends, we are back to green flag racing.
30/71 The VRS is out after Sainz, in 8th at the time, pulls up and is out. Looks a mechanical issue. Vettel closing in on Ricciardo...
29/71 Even with a slower pace to conserve tire life, Verstappen remains a full second faster than Hamilton. Would take something for the Dutchman to lose from here. That won't bother Hamilton though. Second will do just fine for him.
28/71 Verstappen opens up a lead of 10 seconds. Looks home and dry, but in truth everyone's tires aren't last long. Looks like it'll be a two stop kind of day. Long way to go in this one.
27/71 Hamilton is promised a plan in 10 lap's time. We shall see. Down in the field, Perez is still out on his original supersofts and remains four seconds ahead of Sainz.
26/71 Verstappen has four race wins in his career, and won here last year by almost 20 seconds. He looks set to defend his race title again today. Ricciardo is now also worried about his tires and is told to look after them. Going to have to play this one right, Red Bull and Mercedes.
25/71 HAMILTON STRUGGLING! The tires are a problem here for the Briton, clearly. Ricciardo will love that, and it might well be a Red Bull 1-2 today if this continues. Remember though, Hamilton only needs to finish seventh to win the title. Vettel still in the hunt. Race shaping up nicely.
23/71 "We believe everybody is going to the end," Ferrari tells Vettel. But: Ricciardo is told Hamilton isn't happy with his tires. You can almost hear the smile from the Aussie in his "understood" reply.
21/71 As it stands:
1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton (+8.8 seconds)
3. Ricciardo (+11.3 seconds)
4. Vettel (+13.6 seconds)
20/71 FERRARI PITS! Both Vettel and Raikkonen go into the pit, holding on as long as they could it seems. Verstappen now leads again, with Hamilton eight seconds behind. With the top 12 all on supersofts, I imagine this is how we look to stay for a while now...
19/71 Hamilton eventually gets past Raikkonen, but it's a struggle. Ricciardo slips by as well - both in one turn.
17/71 Vettel decides not to pit, but Verstappen has now taken second (thanks to the fastest lap). Big battle for third going on now between Raikkonen, Hamilton and Ricciardo. Will the Briton breeze past the Ferrari like Verstappen did it or play it safe?
15/71 VERSTAPPEN PITS! All change up now. Verstappen pits, and so Vettel takes the lead with Raikkonen in second. Verstappen in third post pit, Hamilton in fourth, Ricciardo in fifth. Wonder whether the Ferrari's will pit soon or will they stay out and try to hold on?
13/71 RICCIARDO PITS! A change from the Red Bull driver, who responds to Hamilton's move. Too early to change or exactly right? Time will tell...
12/71 HAMILTON PITS! Early decision so that he doesn't need to pit again later. Changes to supersofts. Bottas comes in on the same lap. Amazing work from the Mercedes team. H's back out in fifth, Bottas in 8th.
10/71 Ricciardo is closing in on Hamilton - under a second behind now. Verstappen comfortably in the lead. that gap between sixth and the rest has now extended to Bottas, who is still in fifth. The front four - Verstappen, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Vettel are sprinting away from the rest at the moment.
8/71 Hamilton complains about a little sliding out of the rear of the car and that the tires are quite fragile. As it stands he is champion, but a long way to go yet. Vettel is eight seconds off first - the spot he needs to stay to at least have a chance.
5/71 ALONSO OUT! The two-time champion is out, clipped some of Ocon's wreckage and couldn't continue. Speed limit is on, but it seems to have been cleared almost as quickly as it came out.
4/71 Really important that Vettel stayed ahead of Bottas in their. Verstappen nearly 2 seconds ahead of Hamilton, but the gap between Raikkonen in sixth and the rest of the field is already huge.
2/71 Ocon is already in the pit - needs a new nose. Not the start he would have wanted. Bottas in fifth, despite getting a look at Ricciardo on that first corner.
Lap 1/71 WE ARE OFF! Great start by Hamilton! He slips into second behind Verstappen. Ricciardo drops to third, not a great start. Vettel stays in fourth.
Warm up lap underway! This crowd is excited. Hamilton has said he isn't thinking about the title, but surely he must be? Even if just a little bit. Just needs a sensible race today to make sure of glory... The cars are rounding the track. Lights out approaching.
- Things could have been very different this season for Vettel, but it is worth remembering he is a four-time world champion and five years ago yesterday, he won the championship in India. A lot has changed since then, but is worth remembering just how good a driver he can be, especially on his day (and today must be one of those for him).
- Good evening! Is today the day? Many thought it would happen in Austin last weekend, but Lewis Hamilton was made to wait. Today, the Briton only has to finish in seventh to seal the title - his fifth. Sebastian Vettel, starting fourth today, has never won a race when starting further back than third on the grid, but he must win today if he wishes to keep Hamilton waiting.