Caterham Seal World Championship as F1 Returns to Mexico City
Qualifying:
Pos | # | Driver | Constructor | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 62 | Dave Cassidy | 1:06.992 | |
2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | 1:06.999 | |
3 | 63 | Jules Bianchi | 1:07.032 | |
4 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:07.290 | |
5 | 29 | Pastor Maldonado | 1:07.452 | |
6 | 98 | Salvatore Miccoli | 1:07.528 | |
7 | 99 | Kevin Magnussen | 1:07.585 | |
8 | 90 | Daniel Ricciardo | 1:07.625 | |
9 | 27 | Nathan McKane | 1:07.751 | |
10 | 21 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 1:07.771 | |
11 | 91 | Sergio Pérez | 1:07.937 | |
12 | 31 | Rhys Davies | 1:07.991 | |
13 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 1:08.069 | |
14 | 22 | Johnny Cecotto Jr. | 1:08.222 | |
15 | 32 | Daniel Melrose | 1:08.235 | |
16 | 43 | Sébastien Bourdais | 1:08.470 | |
17 | 30 | Mike Rockenfeller | 1:08.476 | |
18 | 5 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:08.682 | |
19 | 55 | Artem Markelov | 1:09.085 | |
20 | 67 | Marcel Agyemang-Badu | 1:09.255 | |
21 | 66 | Esteban Ocon | 1:09.257 | |
22 | 12 | Scott Dixon | 1:09.327 | |
23 | 42 | Davide Valsecchi | 1:09.454 | |
24 | 6 | Ma Qinghua | 1:09.455 | |
25 | 11 | Carlos Sainz Jr | 1:09.584 | |
26 | 56 | Bradley Dagnall | 1:09.708 |
* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox
Report:
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was the home of the legendary finale to the 1987 Formula One season which saw Gerhard Berger win his only world championship, so nostalgic F1 fans were rather pleased to see this venue return to the Formula One calendar and with a championship battle going on, we were in for an exciting event.
Indeed we got a nice race, Sebastian Vettel showed that the thrills of a close title fight get to him: he lost time at the start and had to deal with traffic, completely unable to rejoin the battle for the win. Jules Bianchi worked well and took the lead, extending it and ending up winning a crucial win, making the title fight once more closer.
On the side of the teams, the championship has been decided: Caterham won the championship today, even after Lewis Hamilton retired with a puncture on the final lap. This is crucial, because it may very well lead to Hamilton dropping out of the title fight, he is now more than one win behind his teammate who leads the championship.
To the teams below them, a lot happened as well: Pastor Maldonado and Mike Rockenfeller finally overtook Ferrari in the team’s championship. Artem Markelov came close to saving the ailing Mansell team once more, but his car gave out when he was a favourite for the points. Instead, Nathan McKane rescued himself to give Ferrari a point.
Race:
Pos | # | Driver | Constructor | Time/Retired | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 63 | Jules Bianchi | 42:35.865 | 15 | |
2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | +35.491 | 12 | |
3 | 29 | Pastor Maldonado | +41.468 | 10 | |
4 | 98 | Salvatore Miccoli | +44.696 | 8 | |
5 | 31 | Rhys Davies | +51.185 | 6 | |
6 | 90 | Daniel Ricciardo | +51.694 | 5 | |
7 | 22 | Johnny Cecotto Jr. | +57.496 | 4 | |
8 | 32 | Daniel Melrose | +65.216 | 3 | |
9 | 30 | Mike Rockenfeller | +66.998 | 2 | |
10 | 27 | Nathan McKane | +68.945 | 1 | |
11 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Puncture | 2 | |
12 | 11 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | +1 Lap | 0 | |
13 | 66 | Marcel Agyemang-Badu | +1 Lap | 0 | |
14 | 21 | Stoffel Vandoorne | +1 Lap | 0 | |
15 | 43 | Sébastien Bourdais | +1 Lap | 0 | |
16 | 12 | Scott Dixon | +1 Lap | 0 | |
17 | 62 | Dave Cassidy | +1 Lap | 2 | |
18 | 42 | Davide Valsecchi | +1 Lap | 0 | |
19 | 6 | Ma Qinghua | +1 Lap | 0 | |
20 | 91 | Sergio Pérez | +1 Lap | 0 | |
21 | 67 | Esteban Ocon | +1 Lap | 0 | |
22 | 55 | Artem Markelov | Engine | 0 | |
DSQ | 5 | Valtteri Bottas | +51.606 | 0 | |
DNF | 99 | Kevin Magnussen | Accident | 0 | |
DNF | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Suspension | 0 | |
DNF | 56 | Bradley Dagnall | Engine | 0 |
Fastest Lap:
Sebastian Vettel – 1:08.659
Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:
Pastor Maldonado – was able to compete with the reigning world champion and his superior car.
Reject Of The Race:
Dave Cassidy – crucial mistake hurts his own teammate.