The 2017 Mexican Grand Prix is in the books and it brought conclusions to several 2017 F1 season races. Lewis Hamilton finished ninth in the race but those two points were enough to clinch the 2017 Formula One world championship for him – his fourth world title. His Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finshed second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished off the podium in third. Raikkonen’s Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, finished fourth.
Vettel and Verstappen started in the first row with Hamilton right behind them in the second row but Vettel’s attempted drive-off of Verstappen in the first corner, failed, and Hamilton took advantage of the fracas by driving through the gap created in Vettel and Verstappen’s skirmish – only to be tagged in the rear tire by Vettel as he came back into the main course. The hit caused front wing damage to Vettel and a tire puncture to Hamilton – both requiring early pit stops which prevented either from winning the race. ASN awards top points to Verstappen for the win, Bottas for eluding everybody for second and Raikkonen for a spirited drive for third. With the lack of points for Hamilton, Vettel secures the 2017 AutoSportsNation Formula One driving title with an insurmountable seven-point lead with two races remaining on the schedule.
The Pastor Maldonado Driving School Award goes to Vettel, who was obviously frustrated with Verstappen’s strong start and created the chaos in the race’s beginnings – even though stewards never penalized him. Vettel now moves into a tie with Sergio Perez for the season in this category.
The Kimi Raikkonen “Leave Me Alone! I Know What I’m Doing! Award also goes to Vettel after his pit told him to stay focused and he responded in a very Raikkonen-esque way – “I am focused!” McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso holds a slim one-point lead over Vettel in this category.
The Bernie Ecclestone Doofus Moment Award goes to Verstappen who refused to apologize for berating a USA Grand Prix in the prior race for being penalized for cutting corners at the end of the race to overtake Raikkonen for the final podium spot in that race. The award’s namesake, however, Bernie Ecclestone, has successfully clinched the 2017 title in this category [if you ignore the accumulation of offenses of various officials of various Grands Prix].
2017 ASN Formula One Driver Rankings [after Mexican Grand Prix]
1] Sebastian Vettel – 31 points
2] Lewis Hamilton – 24
3] Valtteri Bottas – 14
4] Daniel Ricciardo – 10
5] Max Verstappen – nine
6] Esteban Ocon/Kimi Raikkonen – six
8] Fernando Alonso/Stoffel Vandoorne – four
10] Sergio Perez – two
11] Romain Grosjean/Lance Stroll – one
2017 Pastor Maldonado Driving School Award [after Mexican Grand Prix]
1] Perez/Vettel – three
3] Carlos Sainz, Jr. – 2.5
4] Daniil Kvyat/Verstappen – two
6] Marcus Ericsson – 1.5
7] Grosjean/Kevin Magnussen/Jolyon Palmer/Stroll/Vandoorne – one
2017 Kimi Raikkonen “Leave Me Alone! I Know What I’m Doing!” Award [after Mexican Grand Prix]
1] Alonso – four
2] Vettel – three
3] Magnussen – two
4] Bottas/Jenson Button/Grosjean/Hamilton/Mercedes [Bottas pit]/Ocon/Red Bull [Verstappen pit]/Ricciardo/Verstappen – one
2017 Bernie Ecclestone Doofus Moment Award [after Mexican Grand Prix]
1] Bernie Ecclestone – three
2] Australian Grand Prix officials/British Grand Prix officials/Canadian Grand Prix officials/Ferrari pit [Vettel]/Force India/Goodwood Festival of Speed/Hamilton/Mercedes marketing/Singapore Grand Prix officials/Stroll/USA Grand Prix officials/Verstappen/Williams – one