In his 226th Formula One race - all of which have been powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine - Lewis claims his fifth FIA Formula One World Championship and becomes one of only three drivers who have won five or more championships, after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
Lewis finished today's Mexican Grand Prix in P4. Valtteri set the fastest lap of the race and finished in P5. Lewis (358 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 64 points from Sebastian Vettel (294 points) - an unassailable lead with two races remaining in the 2018 season. Valtteri (227 points) is in P4 with 50 points remaining to be scored in the 2018 season.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (585 points) lead Ferrari (530 points) by 55 points in the Constructors' Championship with 86 points still to be scored in the 2018 season.
Toto Wolff: Usually, we don't acknowledge greatness until someone's career is over, but we need to take a moment to recognise its presence - Lewis has now equalled Fangio's record and there aren't many like him out there! Lewis has been the differentiator this season - our car was the fastest at times, but not always; sometimes, like today, it was only the third-fastest. And yet Lewis' performance was always was very stable, his race craft was absolutely great. It has always been one of his strengths, but this year it was definitely one of the key factors of his success. We're very happy about Lewis' fifth drivers' title and our fifth in a row as a team, but the job is not done yet. There's a constructors' championship out there that we still want to win and that won't be easy as we saw today. We had a very bad race, we really struggled with the tyres, I don't think we actually switched the tyres on today. We don't know yet what the issue was, but we will dig deep, put the finger in the wound and find out why we struggled so much. Now all our focus is on the constructors' championship, we need to perform strongly in Brazil and make sure we keep pushing until the end.
James Allison: After being on the receiving end of quite a whipping in the race today, it is extremely easy to overlook the scale of the remarkable achievement that Lewis and the team have put together. Lewis' fifth world championship, his fourth with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport - in a season which has tested all of us to the limit, considering that our car has not always had the pace to win from the front. Lewis' contribution to keep us in the fight and to carve out his very, very well deserved championship will go down in history as one of the great performances in our sport. Of course, we know we haven't actually finished our work for the season yet; we still have the constructors' championship which is every bit as important to us and we haven't yet managed to get the points necessary to seal it. We don't want to limp across the line with performances like we delivered today, we want to come back firing on all cylinders in Brazil and win it from the front in a fitting manner. So all our focus now turns to that and we're looking forward to having a stronger day on Sunday in Brazil.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "Today's result reflects the determination of the entire team, after a less than ideal qualifying on a track where aerodynamic downforce and tyre management are fundamentally important. Seb and Kimi both drove great races. Thanks to the efforts of the team, both here at the track and back in Maranello, the Constructors' Championship is still undecided and the team has closed the points gap over the past two races. We are therefore determined to fight all the way to the finish, starting with the next GP in Brazil. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his fifth Drivers' World Championship title."
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "I'm delighted that the Team secured a victory here today, but it's bitter sweet to have lost Daniel who was fighting so hard to maintain second place. It was a fantastic drive by Max. He reacted incredibly quickly at the start and managed to hold his line and re-pass Lewis into Turn 1. From there Max controlled the race in an extremely mature manner. We elected to adopt a two-stop strategy to cover the cars behind in what turned out to be a dominant win for Max. The frustration for us as a Team is that we didn't have both drivers on the podium. Daniel lost out at the start after getting a little too much wheel spin but he then settled into a great race pace. Seeing the tyres come off Max's car at his second stop we elected to leave Daniel out on a one-stop strategy, which he was making work in second place and defending brilliantly against Sebastian. With nine laps to go Daniel had a sudden hydraulic failure which caused him to retire immediately. It is hugely frustrating for the Team not to have both drivers up on the podium, especially when it's such a great celebration here. Our apologies go to Daniel today and we will fight as hard as we can in the last two races of the season to secure a positive result for him. Thanks to our engine partner, who in challenging conditions provided us with a power unit this weekend that was capable of taking on and beating the best. Congratulations also to Lewis on securing his fifth Formula 1 World Championship which is quite an achievement and puts him amongst the sports' elite."
Otmar Szafnauer: "A hugely disappointing afternoon for the team and definitely a missed opportunity to score important points. The strategy we had prepared for yesterday was playing into our hands with Sergio until a brake seal failure forced us to retire the car on lap 38. Up until that moment, Sergio was comfortably running in the points and looked set for sixth or seventh place. On the other side of the garage, Esteban had a scruffy race with contact on lap one destroying any chance of points. Sainz closed the door in turn three and that damaged the front wing. It was a real shame because Esteban only needed to stay out of trouble on lap one and the strategy would have seen him finish well inside the points."
Lance Stroll finished 12th and Sergey Sirotkin 13th in the Mexican Grand Prix. Both drivers started the race on the ultrasoft Pirelli tyre, with Lance P17 and Sergey P19 on the grid. Lance and Sergey made clean starts both climbing four positions each, Lance to P13 and Sergey P15. Lance came in to pit on lap 10 for a new set of the ultrasoft tyre, re-joining in P18 before making his final stop on lap 23 for the supersoft tyre. He pushed hard in the closing stages, overtaking Magnussen for 12th position. Sergey pitted on lap 11 for the supersoft tyre and managed them well to the end of the race, also gaining a position by overtaking Magnussen to finish 13th, just 0.8-seconds adrift of his teammate.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Considering our general performance level that was a relatively good day. Again, two cars home in good condition, which is a positive for the team. It was a very tough race with tyre management, both drivers showed themselves extremely competent at controlling their pace and controlling the use of the tyre. That's what made the difference for them in the end to beat some of the cars out there this afternoon.
Renault Sport Formula One Team's Nico Hulkenberg took his fifth six-placed finish of the season in a strategic Gran Premio de Mexico, helping the team to a 30-point advantage over its nearest championship rival leaving the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Carlos Sainz had been ahead of Nico on the road after a fantastic start, however on lap 29 his car suffered from an electrical shutdown and he retired from the race.
Nico started from P7 on scrubbed Pirelli Hypersoft (pink) tyres, pitting on lap 12 for a new set of Supersoft (red) tyres. Carlos started from P8 on scrubbed Hypersoft tyres, pitting on lap 11 for a new set of Supersoft tyres. He retired from the race on lap 29 after his car suffered from an electrical shutdown.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "Today saw a strong result for us in the championship battle with Nico driving an intelligent race to sixth position. We also saw a Renault-powered car on the top step of the podium after a fine performance from Red Bull. All weekend we were able to show good pace in Mexico and that echoed our performance in Austin, this illustrates that our team continues to push hard right till the end. It was a very frustrating retirement for Carlos and everyone in the team. He was doing a fabulous job and would have also scored a good haul of points. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his fifth World Championship title. He and Mercedes set the bar very high and that must be an inspiration for the future. There are two races left in 2018 and we are aiming for a strong finish to our season."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Firstly, congratulations to Max Verstappen for his fantastic win, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing did a really good job over the weekend showing strong performance from FP1 onwards. Also, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and to Mercedes for winning the Drivers' Championship. Mexico is always a big challenge for the engineers because of the high altitude, which means cooling the brakes and the engine are key factors. It's also a big challenge for the engine manufacturers to find the correct parameters for the PU. We decided to race here with the pre-Russian spec PU, meaning Pierre started the race from the back of the grid. Pierre had a good start and was able to catch up with the midfield, managing the whole race well. Towards the end, he had a decent fight with Ericsson but unfortunately he wasn't able to pass him. We still scored one point, which means the car had a good potential today. Brendon had a flat spot after the start, therefore we called him in to change the tyres on lap one. He then had a really competitive race so it's a pity that he had a collision with Ocon which damaged his floor and received a questionable 5-second penalty. Due to that, he was only able to finish in P14. We lost some points to Sauber but there are still two races to go in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, so we must put all of our efforts in taking back eighth position in the Constructors' Championship."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "Pierre got a precious point today thanks to an aggressive drive that took him from last on the grid to tenth at the end. The result was partly down to his driving and partly the team's good strategy. At a track that puts the PU under a lot of strain, we had a trouble free weekend which is a positive thing."
Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean wrapped up a difficult Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday by finishing 15th and 16th, respectively, in the 71-lap contest at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
The third-to-last round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship proved to be a challenge in qualifying and in the race, as Magnussen started 16th and Grosjean started 19th after neither was able to make it out of the first round of knockout qualifying on Saturday.
In the race, the two attempted to take advantage of varying tire strategies up and down the pit lane, and even with Magnussen rising to as high as ninth and Grosjean climbing all the way to 11th, both fell to the back of the line after their respective pit stops on laps 43 and 44 where they swapped the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires they started the race with for Purple ultrasofts. The duo was the last of those still running at the conclusion of the race around the 4.304-kilometer (2.674-mile), 17-turn circuit, as four drivers failed to finish.
Haas F1 Team maintained fifth in the constructors' standings despite the result. Nineteen rounds into the 21-race Formula One schedule, the American squad trails fourth-place Renault by 30 points and holds a 22-point advantage over sixth-place McLaren.
Magnussen is ninth in the driver's championship with 53 points and Grosjean is 13th with 31 points.
Guenther Steiner: "The only good thing about this weekend is that it ended. There's nothing good to take away from here. We were just too slow and we couldn't get the tires to work. We move on to the next one."
The team suffered a tough start to the Mexican Grand Prix as Fernando retired after just three laps. However, the race ended on a much more positive note thanks to a strong drive from Stoffel, who finished eighth and brought home four points.
Fernando was unlucky to collect debris from an incident between two other cars on the first lap. The debris became lodged in his car bodywork, making his car difficult to drive. Just two laps later, he was forced to retire the car due to water pressure loss from a leak, which the team is still investigating.
Stoffel had a difficult start as he navigated his way through the first lap chaos, and was P19 by the end of the first lap. He then set about battling his way through the field with some bold overtaking moves, maintaining strong pace throughout and managing his tyres well. The team opted for an aggressive one-stop strategy once Stoffel had fought his way up to ninth, and he kept pushing to maintain his position while also conserving his Supersoft tyres for all 59 laps of his second stint until the end of the race, eventually finishing in P8.
Andrea Stella, Performance Director: "The weekend has certainly been bittersweet. Fernando once again didn't finish the race, and was involved in a first-lap incident. His retirement was caused by a water pressure loss due to a leak, which may have been related to the incident due to running over debris, but we are still investigating. Either way, he had significant debris stuck in his car, so had he continued it would have made his race very difficult.
"On the positive side, Stoffel scoring four valuable points after he was 19th at the end of the first lap was due to a combination of factors including some great overtaking manoeuvres, impeccable driving, and looking after the tyres to make them last for 59 laps. Also, it was a great race by our strategy team, who realised we had to take a risk by extending our stint on the harder compound, and it paid off.
"In addition, we did well to manage the cooling of the engine and the brakes which were both very marginal throughout the race, thanks to good preparation at the track and at the factory.
"Finally, our pit-crew executed a great pit-stop today. In fact, I'd like to thank everyone in the team - not only in the garage but also back at the factory - for their constant commitment and development, and of course hard work so far this season."
Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team advances to 8th position in Constructors' Championship after double-points finish in Mexico City.
Through great team effort, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team concluded the challenging Mexican Grand Prix weekend with a double-points finish, with Charles Leclerc scoring six points for 7th position, and Marcus Ericsson adding two points to the tally with a 9th place.
A tight-knit start made spectators' and team members' hearts race faster, with both of the team's drivers giving consistent and strong performances on the opening laps.
Heading into the race on hypersoft tyres after qualifying on them in Q3 yesterday, the challenges of the demanding Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez quickly made it clear that it would not be pure speed, but tyre management and retention of positions that would be the key factor to success - not only for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, but for all teams across the grid.
Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson started from 9th and 10th spots on the grid respectively with a one pit stop strategy, determined to score points. The first stint was crucial in terms of strategy and tyre management, and both drivers did an excellent job of extracting the maximum performance. Both Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson continued to progress, maintaining the strong pace into the second stint, recovering important positions and finally finishing the Mexican Grand Prix weekend with a very successful race result.
With a total of 36 points to its tally, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team has gained a position in the Constructors' Championship, advancing to 8th place today. Charles Leclerc is in 15th (27 points), and Marcus Ericsson in 17th (9 points) place in the Drivers' Championship.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It was a positive Grand Prix for us with strong progression throughout the weekend. We had Charles and Marcus in Q3 and today they both scored points and the team gained a position in the Constructors' Championship. The race was tough, and all drivers struggled with their tyres due to the challenges of the circuit. Both Charles and Marcus did an excellent job in tyre management, and could retain their positions which ultimately resulted in a successful outcome for the team. We have to keep pushing to finish the season on this note, and will fight for another good result at the next race at Sao Paolo."
With high tyre degradation, also provoked by the thin air at high altitude that deprived cars of downforce and caused some degree of sliding, there was a mixture of one and two stop strategies, and even a three-stopper for the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in fifth - who set the fastest lap of the grand prix.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race with a two-stop strategy, but fourth place for Lewis Hamilton - on a different two-stopper - was enough for the Mercedes driver to claim his fifth driver's title.
Five of the top 10 finishers used just one-stop: including three drivers who began the race on the hypersoft tyre, and then completed a very long final stint on the supersoft. Kimi Raikkonen was another driver to complete an extremely long 54-lap stint on supersoft to the flag, having instead started on ultrasoft. In total, there were six different strategies in the top 10.
Pirelli now remains in Mexico for a final 2019 development test on Tuesday with Antonio Giovinazzi driving for Sauber, following which Colombian driver Tatiana Calderon will make her Formula 1 debut in a demonstration run.
Mario Isola: "From the point of view of tyre management it was a tricky race, with a two-stopper confirmed as the winning strategy, but also with many drivers opting to stop just once. From the beginning, the teams had to manage tyres, degradation and also graining, with a number of different approaches seen. In fact, neither of the top three teams used identical strategies with both of their cars: a sign of how difficult it was to call. As expected, the teams also had to react to race circumstances as they happened, with virtual safety cars adding to the strategic complexity. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for a well-deserved driver's championship after a dominant season."
