First lap drama in Mexico gives Verstappen victory, but Hamilton the title

F1Minute - Bitesize Formula One News

The pressure was all on Sebastian Vettel's shoulders going into this race, the title fight in his hands. Earning pole position was the best he could do on Saturday, but unfortunately it was all for nothing. In the first two corners, he, Verstappen and Hamilton ran alongside each other, jostling, bumping wheels, so that eventually Max moved into the lead, whilst Hamilton and Vettel dropped back with a puncture and front wing damage respectively.

They had to fight back through the field, with Vettel more successful at this than Hamilton, but his fourth place finish wasn't enough to stop Hamilton securing the championship, despite only finishing eighth. Huge celebrations all round, even though it was Verstappen who actually won the race. Bottas was second, and Räikkönen took the final step on the podium.

Verstappen finally had some luck, as four of the six Renault powered cars retired with power unit problems. Ericsson also pulled his Sauber into the garage on fire, capping off a dramatic weekend of incidents from start to finish.

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