2018 Mexican Grand Prix

The 2018 Mexican Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2018) was the nineteenth race of the 2018 Formula One season, and the eighteenth time the Mexican Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar. It was held between 26 October and 28 October 2018.
In qualifying, Daniel Ricciardo took his third overall pole position, also his first on a track other than the Circuit de Monaco. After setting the pace at the start of Q3, Max Verstappen failed to beat Ricciardo in the final stages as a result of brake issues. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified third ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with both starting in positions that would make Hamilton the World Champion if they remained in those places.
In the race, Verstappen shot past Ricciardo at the start, and held off Hamilton at the first turn, followed by Ricciardo, Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen. The story of the race became almost every team struggling with the too-soft Pirelli tires, with most drivers making at least two stops. Verstappen was never headed, winning a solid victory. Teammate Ricciardo suffered a mechanical failure late in the race while running second, so the other podiums spots were grabbed by Vettel and Räikkönen. Hamilton drove a careful race to finish fourth, and clinch his fifth world title, while Bottas was a lap down in fifth. Every other car was at least two laps down.
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==Background==
Following his third-place finish in the US, Hamilton would win the title if he finished seventh or higher no matter where Vettel finishes, while Vettel would have to win the race with Hamilton finishing eighth or lower to make the championship battle carry on the next race in Brazil.
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
34 	Nicholas Latifi 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
36 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
47 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	1:19.716	16 	1:19.096	15 	1:18.445	14 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:17.139	2 	1:16.873	2 	1:17.028	4 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:18.746	7 	1:17.954	4 	1:16.566	3 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:18.936	8 	1:18.133	8 	1:17.045	5 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:19.276	13 	1:18.733	12 	1:18.145	13 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:19.312	14 	1:19.322	17 	1:17.565	9 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	No Time 	20 	1:19.047	14 	1:17.525	8 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:19.124	11 	1:18.167	10 	1:17.819	12 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1:19.543	19 	1:18.548	15 	 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	1:19.024	13 	1:17.059	6 	 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:20.142	19 	1:19.219	16 	1:18.698	18 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:19.853	17 	1:19.670	20 	No Time 	20 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:18.028	4 	1:18.046	5 	1:17.623	10 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	1:19.024	9 	1:18.061	6 	1:18.637	16 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	1:18.485	11 	1:17.731	11 	 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:16.656	1 	1:16.720	1 	1:16.284	1 	 	 	 	 	
34 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	1:19.078	10 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	1:19.899	18 	1:19.335	18 	1:18.669	17 	 	 	 	 	
36 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	1:19.134	12 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:18.075	5 	1:18.100	7 	1:16.538	2 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	1:17.926	3 	1:17.953	3 	1:17.336	7 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:18.322	6 	1:18.140	9 	1:18.839	19 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	4 	1:15.866 	 	4 	1:15.845 	 	1 	1:14.759 	1
2 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	3 	1:15.756 	 	1 	1:15.640 	 	2 	1:14.785 	2
3 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:15.673 	 	2 	1:15.644 	 	3 	1:14.894 	3
4 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	5 	1:16.089 	 	3 	1:15.715 	 	4 	1:14.970 	4
5 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	1 	1:15.580 	 	5 	1:15.923 	 	5 	1:15.160 	5
6 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	8 	1:16.446 	 	6 	1:15.996 	 	6 	1:15.330 	6
7 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	9 	1:16.498 	 	7 	1:16.126 	 	7 	1:15.827 	7
8 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	12 	1:16.813 	 	8 	1:16.188 	 	8 	1:16.084 	8
9 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	15 	1:16.862 	 	9 	1:16.320 	 	9 	1:16.189 	9
10 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	11 	1:16.701 	 	10 	1:16.633 	 	10 	1:16.513 	10
11 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	7 	1:16.252 	 	11 	1:16.844 	 	 	 	11
12 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	14 	1:16.857 	 	12 	1:16.871 	 	 	 	12
13 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	6 	1:16.242 	 	13 	1:17.167 	 	 	 	13
14 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	 	10 	1:16.682 	 	14 	1:17.184 	 	 	 	14
15 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	13 	1:16.828 	 	15 	no time 	 	 	 	20*
16 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	16 	1:16.911 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18†
17 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	 	17 	1:16.966 	 	 	 	 	 	 	15
18 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	18 	1:17.599 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
19 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	19 	1:17.689 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
20 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	 	20 	1:17.886 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870	107% time: 1:20.870
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Gasly
*† Grosjean was given a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Leclerc at the previous race in the United States.
===Grid===
*Note - Grosjean penalised three places for causing a collision at the previous round. Gasly penalised 15 for use of additional power unit elements and 5 for an unscheduled gearbox change.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	71 	1:38:28.851 	2 	25
2 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	71 	+ 17.316 	4 	18
3 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	71 	+ 49.914 	6 	15
4 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	71 	+ 1:18.738 	3 	12
5 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	70 	+ 1 Lap 	5 	10
6 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	7 	8
7 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	9 	6
8 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	15 	4
9 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	10 	2
10 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	20 	1
11 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	11 	
12 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	14 	
13 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	17 	
14 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	19 	
15 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	69 	+ 2 Laps 	16 	
16 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	68 	+ 3 Laps 	18 	
Ret 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	61 	Power unit 	1 	
Ret 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	38 	Brakes 	13 	
Ret 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	28 	Power unit 	8 	
Ret 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	3 	Accident damage	12 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
*Red Bull Racing's 60th pole position.
*Fifth victory and 20th podium for Max Verstappen.
*110th podium for Sebastian Vettel.
*102nd podium for Kimi Räikkönen.
*Fifth World Championship for Lewis Hamilton.
==Standings==
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	358 	
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	294 	
3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	236 	
4 	Valtteri Bottas 	227 	
5 	Max Verstappen 	216 	
6 	Daniel Ricciardo 	146 	
7 	Nico Hülkenberg 	69 	
8 	Sergio Pérez 	57 	
9 	Kevin Magnussen 	53 	
10 	Fernando Alonso 	50 	
11 	Esteban Ocon 	49 	
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	45 	
13 	Romain Grosjean 	31 	
14 	Pierre Gasly 	29 	
15 	Charles Leclerc 	27 	
16 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	12 	
17 	Marcus Ericsson 	9 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	6 	
19 	Brendon Hartley 	4 	
20 	Sergey Sirotkin 	1 	
Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	585 	
2 	 	530 	
3 	 	362 	
4 	 	114 	
5 	 	84 	
6 	 	62 	
7 	 	47 	
8 	 	36 	1
9 	 	33 	1
10 	 	7 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2018 Grands Prix
Category:Mexican Grand Prix