© Vladimir RysDouble Points Haul In MexicoAlex scored his fourth top-five finish of the season with a solid drive to fifth place at the Mexican Grand Prix, but for Max, it was a less than maximum Mexico.
Alex During Race Start© Getty Images
- MAX AND HAMILTON MAKE CONTACT AT TURN ONE RESULTING IN THE DUTCHMAN DROPPING TO P8.
- ON LAP FOUR MAX SUSTAINS PUNCTURE FORCING PIT STOP AND DROPPING TO P20.
- ALEX MAKES GREAT START AND MOVES FROM P5 TO P3.
- ALEX FINISHES P5 AND MAX WORKS HIS WAY BACK TO P6.
Max’s woes began almost as soon as the start lights went out. Pole sitter Charles Leclerc got away well, as did third-placed Mercedes driver Hamilton. This resulted in front-row starter Sebastian Vettel moving across to defend and Hamilton was forced well wide.
That tussle allowed Max, starting from fourth, to power down the inside into turn one. He drew alongside Hamilton in the first corner and there was contact as they went into turn two, with both going off onto the grass. Hamilton rejoined in fifth place but Max dropped to eighth place.
A Solo Shot Of Max© Getty Images
The chief beneficiary of their battle was Alex. After making a good start from P5 on the grid the Thai racer was ideally placed to capitalise in turn two when Max clashed with Hamilton and he slipped past to claim third place behind the Ferraris.
Max’s race soon took another hit. He began to fight his way back from eighth place and was soon challenging Bottas for P7. On lap four he muscled past the Finn in the Foro Sol stadium section, but in the process his rear right tyre connected with the endplate of Bottas’ front wing and Max sustained a puncture.
Mexican GP: Race
Ferrari Lead The Start© Getty Images
Max Front On During The Race© Getty Images
Max Stretches© Getty Images
Alex Enjoying The Mexican Hospitality© Getty Images
Alex Races On Medium Tyres© Getty Images
Alex Up Close On Medium Tyres© Getty Images
Alex Leaves After The Pit Stop© Getty Images
Alex and Max Ahead Of The Pack© Getty Images
Max In The Garage© Getty Images
After losing the tyre at the start of the next lap Max was forced to tour the whole circuit until he could pit for a set of new hard tyres and he thus dropped to the back of the field.
At the front, Alex was the first of the leaders to pit, with the Red Bull heading for the pit lane at the end of lap 14. He took on another set of medium tyres and rejoined in P6 behind McLaren’s Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard soon pitted to shed his starting soft tyres, however, and Alex climbed to fourth place behind Leclerc who pitted on lap 15 for medium tyres.
Max Takes The Corner Hot© Getty Images
Vettel now led the race from Hamilton and Bottas and as the laps counted it appeared that the trio were aiming for single-stop races.
Hamilton then pitted on lap 23 for hard tyres, but Ferrari opted not to cover the Briton and kept the German on track, trusting that their driver could keep his medium tyres alive and at a decent pace to ride out the danger.
Max, meanwhile, was in the midst of a heroic fight back from P20 and by lap 30 he was back into the points, dismissing McLaren’s Carlos Sainz after a close battle to take 10th place.
Ahead, Vettel continued to eke out the laps on his fading starting mediums. Bottas pitted on lap 36 for hard tyres and then at the end of the next tour Vettel finally dived into the pit lane to take a set of hard tyres.
Max Loses His Rear Rubber© Getty Images
He emerged in fourth behind race leader Leclerc, Hamilton and Alex who was back up to third. However, both the Ferrari driver and the Red Bull man would need to pit again.
Leclerc made his second stop on lap 43 but as he switched to a new set of hard tyres there was a problem with the rear right wheel and he lost time.
Alex then made his second stop at the end of the following lap. There were no issues during his stop and after an incredible 1.9s stationary he was sent on his way equipped with a new set of hard tyres. He emerged in P5 behind the Monegasque driver.
Alex Receives A Pit Stop© Getty Images
Max, meanwhile, gained further ground on lap 50 when Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo finally pitted to shed his starting hard tyres. The Australian’s stop boosted Max to sixth place, some 33s behind Alex.
And that was how the order stayed. Vettel pushed hard to reel in Hamilton, but with the hard compound tyres seemingly delivering unwavering lap times no matter their age, there was little benefit in the Ferrari driver possessing 13-lap newer tyres than the Mercedes man.
And after 71 laps Hamilton crossed the line 1.7 seconds ahead of the German to take his 83rd career win and his 10th of the season. Behind Vettel, Bottas took third place for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc was fourth in the second Ferrari.
Alex cruised home to fifth place at the flag and a little over 47 seconds later Max crossed the line in sixth place after managing to keep a set of hard tyres alive for a staggering 66 laps.
Sergio Pérez took a well-worked seventh place on home soil after starting from P11, while Ricciardo also enjoyed a successful afternoon, eking out 51 laps on starting hard tyres to then have enough pace at the end to take eighth place after starting 13th on the grid. Pierre Gasly was ninth for Toro Rosso and the final point went to Nico Hulkenberg. The Renault driver was forced to limp to the line though after being hit by Daniil Kvyat on the final lap and although Kvyat finished 10th he was quickly handed a 10s time penalty and Hulkenberg earned the final point on offer.
2 – Of the races he’s finished this year, this was only the second time that Max has finished outside the top five in 2019. The last time was in Italy when he finished in eighth place after starting 19th.
4 – Today’s result was Alex’s fourth top-five finish of the season. The others were in Belgium, Russia and Japan.
- Lewis Hamilton
- Sebastian Vettel
- Valtteri Bottas
- Charles Leclerc
- ALEX ALBON
- MAX VERSTAPPEN
- Sergio Perez
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Pierre Gasly
- Nico Hulkenberg
