F1 results 2017: Max Verstappen wins Mexican Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton takes world championship

Max Verstappen of Red Bull has won the Mexican Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton has won the Formula One Drivers Championship for the fourth time in his career. Verstappen finished first in the race, alongside Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari on the podium, while Hamilton finished ninth.

Hamilton went into Sunday’s race needing a fifth-place finish or better to secure the championship, but his top competition, Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, also needed a win to hold Hamilton off. He didn’t get it, finishing in fourth.

Mercedes has also already won the Constructor’s Championship as a team this year, so it’s been a great season for them, even if the car wasn’t as dominant as it was a year ago.

The Brazilian Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will still have plenty of value for teams and drivers competing in the standings, but a championship will not be on the line in either race.

The start of the race was wild, with Vettel, Hamilton, and Verstappen all getting off the line well. Vettel had pole position, Verstappen had second, and Hamilton started third. First, Vettel and Verstappen touched around the first turn, and Hamilton tried to go around the both of them on the outside.

Verstappen made it past Vettel, who desperately tried to pinch Hamilton, but they collided, sending pieces of Vettel’s front wing flying and causing a flat tire on Hamilton. Both had to pit and both came out in the back of the pack, with Verstappen in first place, Bottas in second and Esteban Ocon of Force India in third.

Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull had a problem with his car and, unfortunately, had to stop on Lap 6, becoming the first driver to retire from the race.

A short time later, Bottas made it past Ocon, and not long after that, the Force India driver went into the pits, which elevated Raikkonen to the podium.

On Lap 26, Nico Hulkenberg of Renault became the second car to retire when he suffered some kind of engine problem and was instructed to stop by his team. Hulkenberg was instructed to get out of the car by climbing over the nose, which typically means there was something unsafe with the battery in the back of the car.

Hamilton was still at the back of the pack by this point, only passing Carlos Sainz Jr. of Renault. Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso and Marcus Ericsson of Sauber were the next to retire, and then Sainz also retired on Lap 63.

By then, the pit stops had cycled, and Verstappen, Bottas, and Raikkonen were the top three. Vettel, at that point, was several seconds behind Raikkonen in fourth place, and the big question was whether Ferrari would move Vettel in front. Hamilton was behind Fernando Alonso of McLaren, down in 10th place, and trying to make a move on him with the assistance of DRS.

Hamilton finally passed Alonso a few laps later on Lap 69. Hamilton had tried multiple overtakes and finally got it done with a couple laps to go. Below is the full finishing order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.