Lewis Hamilton stands on the brink of a fourth world championship, as the Formula One circus rolls into Mexico City for what is yet to be another gripping Mexican Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 6am AEDT.
The Briton must finish anywhere in the top five, regardless of where his title rival Sebastian Vettel places, to claim an unprecedented fourth crown.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will be the stage upon which Hamilton can clinch the title, with 71-laps spread across the high-speed 4.3km circuit.
What makes Mexico unique amongst the rest of the calendar, is that the circuit is at the highest altitude of anywhere in the world, being 2,200m above sea level.
Its vast altitude is known to have an impact on the hybrid power-units, with the thinner air affecting the power output from the combustion engine and reducing brake cooling quite significantly.
All this results in a circuit which, to an extent nullifies the differences between the power-units, despite the fact Mercedes AMG have cruised to victory in the past two years.
A crucial fast lap at the death saw Vettel claim pole position, just ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, who will join him on the front-row.
Hamilton’s Q3 efforts were scrappy to the say the least, with the championship leader only managing a time to put him third fastest overall – but ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
There was some controversy during the final phase of qualifying, where Verstappen had been investigated by the stewards for having impeded Bottas, while the Finn was on a fast lap. The Dutchman has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A bemused Daniel Ricciardo will only line up seventh, having struggled to extract much grip from his tyres. Ahead of him is Esteban Ocon, who will start an impressive sixth.
Home favourite Sergio Perez meanwhile is due to line up tenth on the grid.
Toro Rosso’s lineup has once again been altered, with Daniil Kvyat dropped for the remainder of the season and Pierre Gasly having return to partner Brendon Hartley.
Hartley will start from thirteenth on the grid, whilst Frenchman Gasly is due to start from the rear of the grid having failed to set a time in qualifying.
The script couldn’t be better than with Vettel on pole and Hamilton in third. Can the German keep the flame flickering?
The fate of the title then, is set to be determined within the next 71-laps, so tune in from 6am AEDT for The Roar’s live blog coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well then, the 2017 world championship is decided and we have another four-time world champion on the grid. There are still two races left to contest however this season, with the next coming up in a fortnight's time in Brazil. Thanks again for tuning in to this live blog on The Roar and I look forward to having your company again for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Have a good day!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 333 - Lewis Hamilton 277 - Sebastian Vettel 262 - Valtteri Bottas 192 - Daniel Ricciardo 178 - Kimi Räikkönen 148 - Max Verstappen 92 -- Sergio Perez 83 -- Esteban Ocon 54 -- Carlos Sainz 40 -- Lance Stroll 36 -- Nico Hulkenberg 34 -- Felipe Massa 28 -- Romain Grosjean 19 -- Kevin Magnussen 13 -- Stoffel Vandoorne 11 -- Fernando Alonso 8 --- Jolyon Palmer 5 --- Pascal Wehrlein 5 --- Daniil Kvyat 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Jenson Button
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 595 - Mercedes AMG 455 - Scuderia Ferrari 340 - Red Bull Racing 175 - Force India Mercedes 76 -- Williams Mercedes 53 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 48 -- Haas Ferrari 47 -- Renault Sport 24 -- McLaren Honda 5 --- Sauber Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed a third win of his Formula One career at the Mexican Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton sewed up the 2017 world championship – clinching his fourth title. With rival Sebastian Vettel on pole position and required to deliver a victory to have any hope of pushing the title to the next race in Brazil, the German came together with Hamilton and Verstappen at the first corner – putting both the Ferrari and Mercedes AMG at the back of the field. Vettel recovered to fourth in the race, however that wasn’t enough as Hamilton scraped his way back into ninth, giving the Briton enough points to be declared world champion. The lead of the race since the first lap shenanigans had been held by Verstappen, who demonstrated frightening pace, enough to worry Red Bull who were concerned about the Renault power-unit – following the retirement of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Verstappen in the end finished 20-seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who made a return to the podium and his compatriot Kimi Räikkönen, on the podium for a second consecutive race. A strong race for Force India saw both cars score points, with Esteban Ocon coming home fifth despite being in with a shout of the podium. Sergio Perez in his home race was an impressive seventh. The Force Indias were split by Lance Stroll, who in another impressive outing, only narrowly missed out on fifth behind Frenchman Ocon. Kevin Magnussen represented Haas in the points with eighth, just pulling away at the end of a duelling Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who fought spectacularly at the conclusion of the race. Along with Ricciardo, there were two other Renault power-unit related retirements, with Nico Hulkenberg suffering his fourth retirement in five races and Brendon Hartley out of the grand prix also. Carlos Sainz’s retirement made it an unfortunate double-DNF for Renault, with a steering problem forcing the Spaniard onto the sidelines. Hamilton becomes the first British driver to win four titles, joining an elite club of world champions to have won four or more in Formula One. The Briton becomes tied with Vettel and the great Alain Prost with four titles, whilst he now sits behind Juan Manuel Fangio’s five crowns and the alluring seven championships of Michael Schumacher.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT AND UPDATED CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by David Coulthard VERSTAPPEN - "The start was crucial and I went around the outside." "After last week, this was the perfect race." BOTTAS - "Complete congrats to Lewis." RÄIKKÖNEN - "The initial start wasn't too bad." "The people behind managed to tow past me and then it was a disaster."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 71-LAP MEXICO GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen 2 V. Bottas 3 K. Räikkönen 4 S. Vettel 5 E. Ocon 6 L. Stroll 7 S. Perez 8 K. Magnussen 9 L. Hamilton 10 F. Alonso 11 S. Vandoorne 12 P. Gasly 13 P. Wehrlein 14 R. Grosjean RET C. Sainz RET M. Ericsson RET C. Sainz RET B. Hartley RET N. Hulkenberg RET D. Ricciardo
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Now a four-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton has become the most successful British driver in terms of championships. He is also tied with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost with four titles.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE MEXICAN GRAND PRIX! AS LEWIS HAMILTON IS DECLARED WORLD CHAMPION FOR 2017! VALTTERI BOTTAS comes home on the podium to finish a quiet second, whilst his compatriot KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN represents Ferrari in third.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 71/71: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 70/71: 2 LAPS TO GO So with Hamilton in ninth now, Vettel needs to win the race to keep the title fight going till the next race in Brazil. Very unlikely now...
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 69/71: 3 LAPS TO GO Vettel plugs in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:18.785 as he is 17.3 seconds behind Räikkönen in fourth. Red Bull better not tell Verstappen, in case he tries to blow that one out of the water again!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 68/71: 4 LAPS TO GO Alonso and Hamilton make contact into Turn 1, as the Spaniard continues to hold his ground! The pair continue to tussle halfway through the lap before Hamilton at last takes the position away.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 67/71: 5 LAPS TO GO Stroll within DRS range of Ocon as well now, as the Williams wants to have a go for fifth again. Hamilton still behind the McLaren. Magnussen now further up the road.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 66/71: Fifth and seventh for Ocon and Perez in the Force Indias will be enough for the team in pink to seal out fourth in the constructor's championship then. Hamilton now starting to attack Alonso. The Spaniard not making it easy for the champion elect.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/71: A late stop for Grosjean, as he takes on ultrasoft tyres to take him to the end of the race. The Haas driver is dead last.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/71: Meanwhile at the front, there is a 18.1 second lead for Verstappen over Bottas. The trend of Daniil Kvyat being dropped and Verstappen winning the subsequent race looks set to continue then.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/71: Alonso and Hamilton biding their time behind Magnussen then. The Mercedes AMG actually struggling to get out of the stadium section within a second of the McLaren and in DRS range.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 62/71: Sainz in the pits to retire his Renault then, resulting in a double DNF for the factory Renault team. Horror outing for the team in yellow.