Mexico put on quite a show as Formula 1 returned to the country for the first time since 1992. Nico Rosberg claimed victory for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton second.
While the race wasn't particularly thrilling, the Mexican fans, atmosphere and exciting track made it a success. Here's the weekend in pictures.
Friday
The Mexican GP got off to a difficult start for Jenson Button, an engine change limited his running to just nine laps.
Max Verstappen ended FP1 fastest despite going off and cutting a corner in the esses section.
2016 Lotus F1 driver got another first practice outing with the team at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas suffered a high-speed spin during second practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Verstappen crashed out of FP2 at the final corner early on in the 90-minute long session.
Rosberg was quickest in the second session, with normal service resuming as Mercedes hit the front.
Saturday
Rosberg remained at the front of the field in final practice on Saturday morning.
Raikkonen lost a considerable amount of time in FP3 after an engine fire caused him to pull off track.
Felipe Nasr was one of four drivers eliminated from qualifying in Q1. Fernando Alonso was 16th, with Nasr next up, ahead of Manor's Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens.
Button's weekend went from bad to worse when he was forced to miss qualifying, after an engine issue was found and McLaren did not have time to prepare his car in time.
Carlos Sainz Jr was one of five drivers to finish Q2 in the drop-zone. He was joined by Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Marcus Ericsson and Raikkonen.
Home hero Sergio Perez out-qualified his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in front of the enthusiastic Mexican crowd, in ninth.
Daniil Kvyat qualified fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Bottas, Felipe Massa and Verstappen.
Rosberg claimed pole position in Mexico, from Hamilton and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Sunday
The grandstands were packed with fans for the Mexican GP, with the majority cheering on Perez.
The run to the first corner saw Rosberg lead Hamilton, with Kvyat moving up to third for Red Bull.
Behind, Ricciardo and Vettel collided, giving the Ferrari driver a puncture.
In the early laps, Rosberg held a small lead over Hamilton, with Kvyat keeping the Mercedes duo in his sights.
Vettel dropped to the back of the field and started recovering through the field.
F1 was clearly happy to be back in Mexico and the revised Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Manor cars were once again left to battle amongst themselves, with Rossi leading Stevens.
Ricciardo couldn't keep up with his team-mate and spent most of the race battling the Williams drivers.
The gap between Rosberg and Hamilton stayed within a few seconds throughout the Mexican GP.
Raikkonen started from the back due to grid penalties and made good progress in the first part of the race.
But it all came to nothing when Bottas and Raikkonen collided, the Ferrari not giving the Williams enough room at Turn 5.
The Red Bull duo stayed close together throughout the Mexican GP but Ricciardo couldn't pass Kvyat.
McLaren's day was difficult, Alonso retired on lap one and Button suffered a lonely run to 14th.
Verstappen put in a decent drive to finish ninth for Toro Rosso, behind the Force India drivers.
Perez used an unusual one-stop strategy to finish in eighth place, behind Hulkenberg.
Kvyat led home Ricciardo and Massa, scoring another strong haul of points for Red Bull.
Rosberg went on to claim his fourth win of the 2015 season and first since the Austrian GP in June.
The podium was one of the most special of the season, as it was facing the stadium.
Hamilton was second and Bottas was third, with the podium finishers all getting Pirelli-sponsored sombreros.
© Red Bull Content Pool |
Friday
© McLaren |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Lotus F1 Team |
© Williams Martini Racing |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Saturday
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
© Scuderia Ferrari |
© Sauber F1 Team |
© McLaren |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Sahara Force India F1 Team |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Sunday
© Sahara Force India F1 Team |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Scuderia Ferrari |
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
© Scuderia Ferrari |
© Sahara Force India F1 Team |
© Manor Marussia F1 Team |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
© Scuderia Ferrari |
© Williams Martini Racing |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© McLaren |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Sahara Force India F1 Team |
© Red Bull Content Pool |
© Mercedes AMG Petronas |
© Williams Martini Racing |
© Williams Martini Racing |
No comments:
Post a Comment