2018 Mexican Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Max Verstappen won the Mexican Grand Prix for the second consecutive year, but Lewis Hamilton supplied the championship headline. Fourth place was enough for the Mercedes driver to secure his fifth world title, matching Juan Manuel Fangio‘s tally.

Pole position
Driver	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:14.759
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:18.741 on lap 65
Podium
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 October 2018	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
26 October 2018	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
27 October 2018	Practice 3	10:00 – 11:00
27 October 2018	Qualifying	13:00 – 14:00
28 October 2018	Race	13:10

All times are local. Friday and Saturday use UTC−05:00; Sunday uses UTC−06:00 after the clock change. The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

The 2018 F1 World Championship arrived at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with Lewis Hamilton 70 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Mexico’s altitude offered Red Bull Racing a particularly strong opportunity, while Hamilton needed only a modest points finish to settle the drivers’ title.

Race entries

All 20 regular drivers entered the race. Nicholas Latifi drove Esteban Ocon‘s Racing Point Force India in FP1, Antonio Giovinazzi replaced Charles Leclerc at Sauber, and Lando Norris took Fernando Alonso‘s McLaren.

Free Practice

Max Verstappen led FP1 with a 1:16.656, followed by Daniel Ricciardo. Carlos Sainz took third for Renault as the altitude helped bring the leading non-Mercedes and non-Ferrari cars into the picture.

Red Bull Racing maintained its advantage in FP2. Max Verstappen recorded a 1:16.720, just 0.153 seconds ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, with Carlos Sainz again third.

Max Verstappen completed a sweep of the practice sessions with a 1:16.284 in FP3. Lewis Hamilton was second and Sebastian Vettel third, but Red Bull Racing still looked the team to beat.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Mexican Grand Prix FP1, 26 October 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:16.656	19
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.483s	19
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.270s	20
4	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.372s	21
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.419s	23
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.666s	27
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.090s	17
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+2.280s	22
9	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.368s	29
10	34	Nicholas Latifi	Racing Point Force India	+2.422s	23
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+2.468s	29
12	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+2.478s	25
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.620s	26
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.656s	28
15	47	Lando Norris	McLaren	+2.990s	23
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+3.060s	29
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.197s	28
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.243s	30
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.486s	26
20	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Mexican Grand Prix FP2, 26 October 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:16.720	21
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.153s	32
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.233s	35
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.234s	42
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.326s	36
6	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+1.341s	35
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.380s	40
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.413s	42
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.420s	40
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+1.447s	24
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.765s	24
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.013s	39
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.304s	39
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.327s	36
15	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.376s	30
16	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.499s	25
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.602s	41
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.615s	37
19	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.823s	31
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.950s	35

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Mexican Grand Prix FP3, 27 October 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:16.284	9
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.254s	9
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.282s	11
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.744s	7
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.761s	16
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+0.775s	13
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.052s	11
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.241s	16
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.281s	14
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.339s	10
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.447s	10
12	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+1.535s	10
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.861s	10
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.161s	15
15	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.264s	11
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.353s	10
17	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.385s	9
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.414s	8
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+2.555s	5
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	No time	1

Qualifying

Daniel Ricciardo overturned the practice form with a superb final Q3 lap of 1:14.759. Max Verstappen missed pole by just 0.026 seconds, giving Red Bull Racing a front-row lockout but denying Verstappen the youngest-ever polesitter record.

Lewis Hamilton qualified third ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen on the third row. The front of the grid promised a fascinating contest between Red Bull Racing‘s race-winning ambitions and the championship priorities of Mercedes and Ferrari.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Mexican Grand Prix Qualifying, 27 October 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:15.866	1:15.845	1:14.759	16
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:15.756	1:15.640	1:14.785	16
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:15.673	1:15.644	1:14.894	21
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:16.089	1:15.715	1:14.970	16
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:15.580	1:15.923	1:15.160	22
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:16.446	1:15.996	1:15.330	20
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:16.498	1:16.126	1:15.827	18
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:16.813	1:16.188	1:16.084	18
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:16.862	1:16.320	1:16.189	20
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:16.701	1:16.633	1:16.513	20
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	1:16.252	1:16.844	—	16
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:16.857	1:16.871	—	12
13	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	1:16.242	1:17.167	—	16
14	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:16.682	1:17.184	—	12
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:16.828	No time	—	11
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:16.911	—	—	9
17	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:16.966	—	—	6
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:17.599	—	—	9
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:17.689	—	—	5
20	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:17.886	—	—	6

Pierre Gasly received a 20-place grid penalty: 15 places for exceeding his quota of power unit elements and 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Romain Grosjean received a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision in the previous round.

What happened in the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen made the better start and took the lead, while Lewis Hamilton also passed Daniel Ricciardo to run second. Sebastian Vettel settled into fourth as Verstappen began building the platform for another Mexico victory.

Tyre degradation soon made life uncomfortable for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas stopped early, while Ferrari extended its opening stint and kept different strategic options available.

Sebastian Vettel worked his way past Daniel Ricciardo and then Lewis Hamilton to move into second. Hamilton struggled to protect his tyres and ultimately needed another stop, with finishing safely becoming more important than chasing a podium.

Daniel Ricciardo ran a long second stint and remained in contention for a strong result until a hydraulic failure ended his race. It was another painful retirement for the polesitter and removed the prospect of a Red Bull Racing double podium.

Max Verstappen controlled the race to win ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, more than enough to clinch his fifth world championship with two rounds remaining. Valtteri Bottas took fifth and the fastest lap, without a bonus point.

Nico Hülkenberg led the midfield in sixth, followed by Charles Leclerc, Stoffel Vandoorne, Marcus Ericsson and Pierre Gasly. Vandoorne’s result ended a points drought stretching back to Azerbaijan, while home favourite Sergio Perez retired with a brake problem. The day belonged to both Verstappen’s racecraft and Hamilton’s season-long achievement.

2018 Mexican Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Mexican Grand Prix was held on 28 October 2018, with a scheduled start of 13:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	71	1:38:28.851	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+17.316s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	+49.914s	15
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+78.738s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	69	+2 laps	8
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	69	+2 laps	6
8	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	69	+2 laps	4
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	69	+2 laps	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	69	+2 laps	1
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	69	+2 laps	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	69	+2 laps	0
13	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	69	+2 laps	0
14	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	69	+2 laps	0
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	69	+2 laps	0
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	68	+3 laps	0
Ret	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	61	Hydraulics	0
Ret	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	38	Brakes	0
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	28	Clutch	0
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	3	Water pressure	0

Brendon Hartley received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision.

2018 Mexican Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	65	14:44:54	1:18.741	196.776
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	66	14:44:46	1:19.186	195.670
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	57	14:32:09	1:19.462	194.991
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	49	14:21:24	1:19.522	194.844
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	19	13:40:00	1:20.334	192.874
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	67	14:49:16	1:20.537	192.388
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	67	14:49:05	1:20.637	192.150
8	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	49	14:21:46	1:20.728	191.933
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	46	14:19:51	1:21.370	190.419
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	45	14:18:20	1:21.874	189.246
11	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	14	13:33:30	1:21.921	189.138
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	6	13:21:41	1:22.386	188.070
13	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	26	13:50:44	1:22.438	187.952
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	18	13:39:25	1:22.440	187.947
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	6	13:22:11	1:22.629	187.517
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	66	14:48:30	1:22.640	187.492
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	69	14:52:31	1:22.755	187.232
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	27	13:52:08	1:22.983	186.717
19	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	6	13:21:49	1:23.545	185.461
20	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	3	13:17:22	1:24.197	184.025

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	358
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	294
3	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	236
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	227
5	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	216
6	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	146
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	69
8	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India / Racing Point Force India	57
9	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	53
10	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	50
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India / Racing Point Force India	49
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	45
13	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	31
14	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	29
15	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	27
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	12
17	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	9
18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	6
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	4
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	1

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	585
2	Ferrari	530
3	Red Bull Racing	362
4	Renault	114
5	Haas	84
6	McLaren	62
7	Racing Point Force India	47
8	Sauber	36
9	Toro Rosso	33
10	Williams	7
EX	Force India	0

The original Force India entry was excluded from the championship before the Belgian Grand Prix and its 59 constructors’ points were forfeited. Racing Point Force India entered as a new constructor from Belgium; the drivers retained their points.

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November