2017 Mexico Grand Prix - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, 27-29 October

[Fulcrum]

They really need to consider changing some aspects of this track. High altitude/low slipstream effect, low grip/low degradation tarmac, and an uninspiring layout all combine to deliver a thoroughly dull race, year after year. It really doesn't deserve its place at the end of the season.

[Sierra117]

They really need to consider changing some aspects of this track. High altitude/low slipstream effect, low grip/low degradation tarmac, and an uninspiring layout all combine to deliver a thoroughly dull race, year after year. It really doesn't deserve its place at the end of the season.

I'd personally be happy if they just took Suzuka and treated it with good old Need For Speed options - Suzuka Mirrored, Reversed and Reversed-Mirrored - that's 3 great tracks added to the calendar

[Gaz.]

Anyhow the races only had a few highlights. Not a good race at all and makes you wonder if this track has a future on the calendar. Something needs to be done about the DRS.. or maybe the layout needs to change. The stadium section is the worst part of the track.. to Baku like..

Mexico is going nowhere. Packed stands and they can afford the hosting fees. The track is crap though.

[zeph]

To me, it seems Verstappen was the main culprit in the first-lap incident, but he got away with it so good for him, I guess.

In the end, it didn't really matter; Hamilton deservedly wins the championship, and we have much to look forward to next season.

[Artur Craft]

Were the Renault powered cars failures all due to the PU? If so, that's the most imcompetent thing I have ever seen on motorsport

_3 PU changes before the race(while the Toro Rossos already had problems on the FPs)
_Ricciardo and Hartley still broke down again despite the PU change
_Renault factory cars also failing

It was a miracle that Verstappen survived and won this race. I'm betting he'll retire on Interlagos.....

Mclaren, this is what awaits you..... and don't expect a good performance either. Yes, it will be less bad than Honda but Mercedes, more often than not, stretch it's legs over the winter with it's PU development

[Schuttelberg]

Welcome to the club of fans of 4 time champions!

You are so heart broken, just like Vettel, don't take it so hard, don't take it so personally. Next year a new chance all over again.

To be very honest, that happened in Singapore. (The heartbreak bit)

And to be blunt, I'm very pleased Lewis won. I know he's at or a level above Sebastian. What I did take personally was Rosberg winning all those races and the WDC. That was actually bitter to swallow.

[Restomaniac]

They really need to consider changing some aspects of this track. High altitude/low slipstream effect, low grip/low degradation tarmac, and an uninspiring layout all combine to deliver a thoroughly dull race, year after year. It really doesn't deserve its place at the end of the season.

I'd personally be happy if they just took Suzuka and treated it with good old Need For Speed options - Suzuka Mirrored, Reversed and Reversed-Mirrored - that's 3 great tracks added to the calendar

Spa too.

[Cold Fussion]

They really need to consider changing some aspects of this track. High altitude/low slipstream effect, low grip/low degradation tarmac, and an uninspiring layout all combine to deliver a thoroughly dull race, year after year. It really doesn't deserve its place at the end of the season.

There's no fixing this awful circuit.

[Starscreamer]

I'm so dumb. why didnt I put some money on VES.... I mean Kvyat went off

VES??? You mean VER

Yes 2 time this year for Max!

VES is correct. VER is Vergne and HAR is Haryanto.

; P


Y

Vergne is more then 2 year no more a F1 driver.
The name VER came free.
Verstappen started with VES but changed it this year in VER (just like his dad).

https://www.f1today.net/en/news/f1/2228 ... ves-to-ver

[Schuttelberg]

Then watch what Hamilton said in the ziggo (dutch tv) post race interview. What happened there with seb? "Yeah.....that was...but still I rise, you know...."

I apologise for my comment on Lewis not being classy forever etc. I saw this interview and it was harmless. You portrayed it in a devious way.

I am devious like that! I apologise and welcome also Hammy to the club! May I try (as I am so devious already anyway) to probe for your opinion on Hamilton asking about it on the radio to his engineer as well?

He said it in exactly the same words on sky, no coincedence I would think:

https://youtu.be/jycoFd_AxRs

Of course he is not saying anything outright, just implying, he is in F1 longer then today but If I am devious just, then how do you explain what Hamilton means here?

Well, I didn't like the radio message at all. Personally, I never take radio messages seriously. It's all heat in the moment stuff. Also, Vettel is not like Schumacher. Schumacher's actions were cold, calculated and grey. Vettel is not going to go down that route but he's a hot head and he can do a Baku again.

On the interview side? Well, Lewis is a great driver so I don't let some of the shades of his personality cloud my judgement. At least I try not to let it. However, I've always felt that LH has a desperation of victimhood. He loves to portray that the whole world is against him, 'still he rises.' The reality is far from it.

Also, as a fan I'm so down with the loss of the title so I can imagine the feelings of Seb. More than Lewis, the constant low blows by a certain Alonso just lacks class and dignity.

[Vasconia]

When I saw that Vestappen almost reached the pole I was pretty sure that he could win the race, as it happened. Red Bull is clearly faster on Sundays, I don´t now why but being 4-6th on qualy, they can be as fast as Mercedes and Ferrari during the race, so being second it was clear sign that they had the pace to win. Last races are going to be very good ones to watch. If 2018 is like that...

Well deserved victory for Max, amazing driving. Seb and Lewis, be careful with this guy!!

Congratulatons for the 4th championship for Lewis, it has been well deserved because his last part of the season has been almost faultless. Amazing job!

Seb and Ferrari have ruined their chances to win the championship, they have to learn from their mistakes. Vettel´s first part of the season was excellent. The last one it hasn´t been so good. He needs to focus a little bit more.

The battle between Alonso and Hamilton was awesome, I do hope McLaren-Renault can be competitive in 2018. This would be amazing for F1.

What a disaster for Renault. They need to improve the reliablity, now.

The momento the dj is jumping like mad and Kimi is just driking... priceless.

[Schuttelberg]

Frankly, that is the only worth of Raikkonen these days. Give such comical moments. He would have been beaten by Ocon yesterday without the VSC. Ric started last and was ahead of him after lap 3.

The guy can't start, he can't pass, he can't qualify and he only has the 'pace' in the last 10 laps of a race when everyone else has basically consolidated their place for the weekend. Proper waste of space.

His fans always have an excuse for his non performance. Like I said earlier, when the 8 planets, it's satellites and the sun all come in one line- Kimi is unbeatable. This is what needs to happen for him to win.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

When I saw that Vestappen almost reached the pole I was pretty sure that he could win the race, as it happened. Red Bull is clearly faster on Sundays, I don´t now why but being 4-6th on qualy, they can be as fast as Mercedes and Ferrari during the race, so being second it was clear sign that they had the pace to win. Last races are going to be very good ones to watch. If 2018 is like that...

It is worth remembering that, Red Bull is getting a new PU almost every race! A modified, slightly more powerful one every time, though extremely unreliable. Whereas, Mercedes got their last and latest Spec in Spa! That was 6 races ago (Mexico was 7th) !!!. For sure, they are not using the latest spec PU everywhere and might as well be using Spec 2 and 3 in some races and two more races to go. So, it's not a rocket science to understand that the Renault PU is helping come closer to Mercedes and Ferrari with this situation. While both leading drivers of Merc and Ferrari have to conserve their PU as much as they can in races, RB need not have to worry about it. They can go bonkers as they have nothing to lose. With the monkey off the back, we might see Merc and Ferrari go full monty in the next two races. No holds barred. Just the sheer display of the arsenal!

I am sure, neither Mercedes, nor Ferrari have stood still on the PU development part and I wouldn't be surprised if next season, we would be back to square on power terms and RB might still become a decent third. As much as I would like to see THE TOP FOUR TEAMS, including McLaren fight for the championship next year, it might still be between Merc and Ferrari.

Fernando for champion next year and 2019. Then all three FOUR TIME CHAMPIONS retire! Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Schuttelberg]

When I saw that Vestappen almost reached the pole I was pretty sure that he could win the race, as it happened. Red Bull is clearly faster on Sundays, I don´t now why but being 4-6th on qualy, they can be as fast as Mercedes and Ferrari during the race, so being second it was clear sign that they had the pace to win. Last races are going to be very good ones to watch. If 2018 is like that...

It is worth remembering that, Red Bull is getting a new PU almost every race! A modified, slightly more powerful one every time, though extremely unreliable. Whereas, Mercedes got their last and latest Spec in Spa! That was 6 races ago (Mexico was 7th) !!!. For sure, they are not using the latest spec PU everywhere and might as well be using Spec 2 and 3 in some races and two more races to go. So, it's not a rocket science to understand that the Renault PU is helping come closer to Mercedes and Ferrari with this situation. While both leading drivers of Merc and Ferrari have to conserve their PU as much as they can in races, RB need not have to worry about it. They can go bonkers as they have nothing to lose. With the monkey off the back, we might see Merc and Ferrari go full monty in the next two races. No holds barred. Just the sheer display of the arsenal!

I am sure, neither Mercedes, nor Ferrari have stood still on the PU development part and I wouldn't be surprised if next season, we would be back to square on power terms and RB might still become a decent third. As much as I would like to see THE TOP FOUR TEAMS, including McLaren fight for the championship next year, it might still be between Merc and Ferrari.

Fernando for champion next year and 2019. Then all three FOUR TIME CHAMPIONS retire! Yes. Yes. Yes.

Excellent post! (Apart from the last line)

From what I observed, heard and then read about the weekend, both Mercedes and Ferrari ran conservative modes all through the weekend due to the high altitude while Renault under estimated the stress on reliability.

As for the 2018 predictions? Well, the calm and serene quiet at Renault is making me very nervous. I also get the feeling that Mercedes have reached the summit. I was just observing lap times from Friday and race days and there's no doubt that in race trim, the RBR is the fastest car. The progress they've made all goes into next years car as well. I feel Renault will get their act together in 18 and Max Verstappen is going to smoke the daylights out of the grid.

On to the last line of your post- I don't know if you loathe Seb and Ferrari or you're just not that into him. I don't know. But your avatar is of someone who drew me to the sport. He's my childhood hero and for me, he's my hero for life. I felt some connect between him and Seb from the first day and then with their character being similar I became a Vettel fan- If he doesn't get a title at Ferrari.. I will be devastated. I feel it will be the right homage to his hero and the memory at Fiorano. Not even a title at Mercedes or anywhere else.. It has to be in red.

[Sieper]

I apologise for my comment on Lewis not being classy forever etc. I saw this interview and it was harmless. You portrayed it in a devious way.

I am devious like that! I apologise and welcome also Hammy to the club! May I try (as I am so devious already anyway) to probe for your opinion on Hamilton asking about it on the radio to his engineer as well?

He said it in exactly the same words on sky, no coincedence I would think:

https://youtu.be/jycoFd_AxRs

Of course he is not saying anything outright, just implying, he is in F1 longer then today but If I am devious just, then how do you explain what Hamilton means here?

Well, I didn't like the radio message at all. Personally, I never take radio messages seriously. It's all heat in the moment stuff. Also, Vettel is not like Schumacher. Schumacher's actions were cold, calculated and grey. Vettel is not going to go down that route but he's a hot head and he can do a Baku again.

On the interview side? Well, Lewis is a great driver so I don't let some of the shades of his personality cloud my judgement. At least I try not to let it. However, I've always felt that LH has a desperation of victimhood. He loves to portray that the whole world is against him, 'still he rises.' The reality is far from it.

Also, as a fan I'm so down with the loss of the title so I can imagine the feelings of Seb. More than Lewis, the constant low blows by a certain Alonso just lacks class and dignity.

Fair enough, from your viewpoint that is actually a defendable standpoint. I think Lewis thought it was on purpose (me too I have to admit). I think all drivers are constantly in a battle of ego's. Actually off track Seb is usually (always?) very, very classy. It is just that on track he does sometimes seem to get too hot. It is hurting him the most. I personally have the same, Lets call it passion, when I am sporting. It sometimes helps you but it can also work against you, and others.

Listen, next year Seb will have the chance again, but for his own sake he must remain more composed, don't let baku happen again. I am a Max fan und should he also be in the mix I actually fear for his passion as well. Well 2 more races where only victory is at stake and then on to next year!