Lewis Hamilton (P1, 25 pts): 9/10
Lewis Hamilton shouldn't have won Sunday's race. It just wasn't on the cards, despite the fact that he was quickest in the first Friday practice session. The Mercedes simply didn't seem comfortable in the rarefied atmosphere in Mexico City, just as they had been far off the pace here a year ago. Despite insisting that he was here to win and not just prioritising clinching the title, the general feeling was that any result which saw him finish ahead of Valtteri Bottas would be enough for Hamilton this weekend. Seeing the Finn in the wall at the end of qualifying must have given him a momentary flutter with the possibility that the matter of the championship was already taken care of, but Bottas did make it onto the grid immediately behind Hamilton in time for lights out on Sunday. Hamilton has a chance of using the tow from Charles Leclerc to pass Sebastian Vettel, but he had to put safety first and back out when the Ferrari squeezed him onto the grass, That almost led to disaster when he made contact with Max Verstappen in the first corner, which left him with serious damage ot the floor of his car. After that things settled down and it was all a matter of the one-stop strategy, with Hamilton dismayed to be switched to a set of hard tyres that he was expected to make work for 47 laps. Despite reassurance from the Silver Arrows pit wall, he really didn't expect it to work: but the Mercedes strategists had called it right, and despite his scepticism Hamilton had also delivered his part to perfection/ The surprise win duly materialised against the odds, an impressive all-round team effort - and also one of Hamilton's best, grittiest efforts.
