Superior Verstappen wins the Grand Prix of Mexico

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Max Verstappen has won the Grand Prix of #Mexico impressive this evening. 
The #Dutchman had a super start and scored Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton of. The two kemphanes hit each other and fell far back. Verstappen could then drive sovereignly to the victory.

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A bold first corner move by Max Verstappen led to a second victory of the season for the Red Bull driver, while Lewis Hamilton sealed a fourth world title despite finishing down in ninth place.

Drama befell the front-runners through the opening chicane, as Verstappen stuck his car around the outside of polesitter Sebastian Vettel at the first right apex. Forcing his way past at the second left apex, Hamilton cut back to the outside of Vettel through the Turn 3 exit.

Disaster struck for both title protagonists, as Vettel glanced the right rear wheel of Hamilton’s Mercedes with his front wing endplate. Hamilton picked up a puncture, while Vettel lost his endplate, with both pitting for new tyres and nosecone respectively at the end of the first lap.

With his two chief rivals eliminated, Verstappen was able to pull away at the front, the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas unable to keep pace with the Red Bull in second.

Vettel made much faster progress through the midfield than Hamilton, the latter’s car suffering from overheating in the tow of Carlos Sainz for nearly a dozen laps.

A mid-race virtual safety car for Brendon Hartley‘s expired Toro Rosso allowed Hamilton to switch compounds from soft to super soft, allowing him to make faster progress up the order.
 
The only real resistance he faced on his way to ninth place was the very last car he passed, tenth placed Fernando Alonso. The McLaren driver put up a staunch defence, holding him at bay in the closing laps, but a bold move around the outside of Turn 5 gave Hamilton the place.
Vettel climbed to fourth, not enough to keep the championship alive going to the next round in Brazil. He finished 23 seconds behind his team-mate Kimi Räikkönen, who suffered a poor start and had to fight back against the Force India pair to finish on the podium.

Esteban Ocon rounded out the top five, he and team-mate Sergio Perez sandwiching the Williams of Lance Stroll in sixth. Stroll was a major beneficiary of the earlier virtual safety car, making his one and only stop while the race was neutralised to capitalise on his strong start.

Another driver to benefit from good timing for their only pit-stop was Kevin Magnussen, who was the very first driver to pull in when the virtual safety car was deployed. Having stayed out longer than most and made a nuisance of himself for the early stoppers, eighth was a fine reward from 14th on the grid.

Daniel Ricciardo had been scything through the field in the early laps, but pulled in shortly after with an MGU-H failure, one of the new components fitted for this race. Nico Hülkenberg also retired, being told to stop by his Renault team when his car was deemed unsafe to continue.

Marcus Ericsson turned in one of his best performances of the year, fighting tooth and nail with Alonso for points in the early stages. He had lost out by taking his stop just before the virtual safety car, and shortly after pulled into the pits with his engine on fire and being forced to retire.
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1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	71 laps
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+19.678
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+54.007
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1:10.078
5	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1 lap
6	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1 lap
7	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1 lap
8	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1 lap
9	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1 lap
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1 lap
11	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1 lap
12	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1 lap
13	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
14	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	+2 laps
15	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2 laps

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Vettel grabs GP Monaco, sour fifth place Verstappen

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Sebastian Vettel secured a memorable one-two for Ferrari in Sunday's 75th Monaco Grand Prix to extend his world championship lead to a luxurious 25 points over Lewis Hamilton.
Taking full advantage of generous support from his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who led from pole position to the start of the pit-stops, the four-time champion came home 3.1 seconds clear of the Finn in glorious Mediterranean sunshine.
Vettel's success was Ferrari's first in the principality in 16 years since seven-time champion Michael Schumacher triumphed in 2001. It was the 82nd 1-2 in the team's history.
It was also the 29-year-old German's second Monaco triumph, his third win this year and the 45th of his career, lifting him 25 points clear of Hamilton of Mercedes in the title race.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who was unlucky not to win last year, finished third for Red Bull, despite hitting the barrier at Ste Devote, ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and Dutch teenager Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull.

Carlos Sainz was a well-judged sixth for Toro Rosso ahead of Hamilton, who had started 13th, and Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Haas.

Felipe Massa was ninth for Williams ahead of Dane Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas.
Jenson Button, back for one race to replace two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who was due to race at the Indianapolis 500 later Sunday, retired his McLaren after a collision with German Pascal Wehrlein's Sauber.
The crash left Wehrlein's car on its side at Portier, but he was unhurt.
On a perfect afternoon on the Cote d'Azur, the track temperature was 50 degrees and the air 26 as the drivers stood for a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the Manchester terrorist attack.
At the start, Raikkonen pulled clear to lead from Vettel and Bottas with Hamilton passing Vandoorne to take 12th on the opening lap.
The conditions were ideal for sunbathing, but not for race incidents as the field stretched out, the top eight remaining in grid order.

By lap seven, Raikkonen was two seconds clear of Vettel and 5.2 ahead of third-placed Bottas.

Hamilton's frustrations behind Kyvat were clear before he complained on team radio. "Our race comes later," said his engineer 'Bono'.
On a circuit with only two possible overtaking places - at Ste. Devote and at the chicane after the tunnel, both requiring co-operation - this was hardly welcome news for those hoping for something other than a processional contest decided by pit stops or reliability.
- perfectly executed -
Hamilton finally advanced one place after 16 laps when German Nico Hulkenberg retired, his Renault spewing oil at Portier. When Sergio Perez pitted, from seventh, for front wing repairs, he was 10th.
By lap 27, Raikkonen was behind Button's McLaren, but without blue flags waved to tell the Englishman to move aside. "How close do I have to get?" said the Finn.

This delay allowed the leaders to close up until, on lap 28, they surged past Button.

Raikkonen then passed Wehrlein who, briefly, held up Vettel. The gaps re-opened to 1.5 and 3.5 seconds with Ferrari in clear command.
The first leader to pit was Verstappen from fourth after 32 laps followed immediately by Bottas whose Mercedes' crew did their job 0.8 seconds quicker than the Dutchman's.
When Vettel pitted after 39 laps, he rejoined in the lead ahead of Raikkonen with Ricciardo third, thanks to fast pre-stop laps, and Bottas fourth.
For Ferrari, it seemed a perfectly executed plan to enable Vettel to win, and boost his drivers' championship bid, had unfolded.
Hamilton finally came in after 45 laps from sixth, rejoining seventh, but Vettel was out of sight, nine seconds down the road and clear of Raikkonen, with Ricciardo a further five seconds adrift in third.
By lap 50, it was 10.2 seconds and the paddock was abuzz with claims about Vettel's undisputed status as Ferrari's number one driver.

Attention was soon refocused on the track when, on lap 60, the Safety Car was deployed after Wehrlein was tipped into the barrier at Portier.

Verstappen took advantage of the pause to pit for fresh ultra-soft tyres before, when the action resumed after 66 laps, the final chase, and battle of attrition, began.

Source -  https://sports.ndtv.com/