Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel took third and fourth place in today’s Mexican Grand Prix, the 18th round of the F1 World Championship. Following a coming together between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shortly after the start, Seb had to pit for a new front wing, as well as changing tyres. From then it was a case of playing catch up. Vettel ran the Soft and Ultrasoft tyres, as did Kimi Raikkonen, although the Finn made one less pit stop than his team-mate.
Kimi Raikkonen: “After yesterday’s difficulties in qualifying, third place is not too bad, but obviously it is not what we were looking for. The start was not too bad, but then I moved to the left and lost the tow. I found myself blocked and lost many places in the first two corners. Then I had to wait for the cars in front to stop, to be able to push and gain positions. My car was a bit better than yesterday and we had decent speed. Once I was third, I could try to catch up, but I was too far from Valtteri and there was nothing I could really do. I focused on finishing the race and on keeping my position. This year we have made a good step forward from last season, but obviously we still have a few small things to improve. I think that in this season we’ve had a good and solid car. Lately we’ve had some issues, but the speed has been there. Obviously too many DNFs cost us a lot in the Championship. For next year we have to minimize those issues, improve things and learn from this season.”
Maurizio Arrivabene: “Once again today, the result of the race does not reflect the true potential of the SF70H. We saw that potential yesterday with pole position and again this afternoon, with several overtaking moves and the race fastest lap. Unfortunately, the collision at the first corner compromised the entire race. Right to the very end, the team fought for the chance of winning this world championship. We will now continue to do our very best in the two remaining Grands Prix, tackling them with the same level of concentration and determination. Congratulations to Lewis on his world championship title.”
Sebastian Vettel: “I know the team has been working hard, doing their best, but we didn’t achieve what we wanted to. It’s hard to cross the line realizing that you are not in the fight anymore. I fought to the end, giving everything I had. Then obviously in the last laps, when I had a big gap to Kimi, it would have been difficult for me to close it without something happening, like a Safety Car, but I was still believing. But in the end it didn’t happen. For sure it is not a great day for us, but it’s not about us today, it’s about Lewis and I congratulate him. Tomorrow you wake up and it will be a different day. The team is growing, and there are many positive aspects. Overall, I think we are on the right path.”
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2017 Mexican Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 1:36'26.550
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Mercedes 19.678
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 54.007
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 70.078
5 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1 lap
6 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1 lap
7 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1 lap
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1 lap
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 1 lap
10 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1 lap
11 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1 lap
12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso Renault 1 lap
14 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 2 laps
15 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 2 laps
Carlos Sainz Renault Renault
Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Renault
Nico Hulkenberg Renault Renault
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG
