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Hamilton Made To Sweat It Out In Mexico As He Clinches Fourth Drivers Title
Formula One
The Mercedes didn’t work especially well around the Mexican Grand Prix track and as a result, Lewis Hamilton lacked outright speed which allowed his chief rival to claim pole ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during qualifying. Sunday and all Hamilton had to do was finish in the top 5, play the percentage game, be more Alain Prost. But this is Formula 1 and the script can be predictable as much as it can unpredictable and no one could have forecast the quickfire events of the race at the first corner. As the red lights went out to begin the race Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel dueled it out for turn 1 bragging rights. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Start Approaching turn 1/2 Vettel and Verstappen banged wheels as they battled for the lead, Verstappen stuck to his line and Vettel fell back which put him immediately under threat from Hamilton. At this point, Hamilton could have let Vettel go but he saw a gap and decided to fight his Ferrari rival, wheel to wheel. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Verstappen-Vettel-Hamilton-Battle Hamilton fought his way into second with Vettel trailing slightly behind. Inexplicable Vettel touched Hamilton’s right rear with the Ferrari’s front wing endplate and at this point, the race took an unexpected turn. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Verstappen-Vettel-Bang-Wheels Hamilton suffered an immediate puncture and Vettel damaged his front wing, both needed to pit but Hamilton had to drive carefully and therefore slowly back to the pits. With less than a few hundred meters of lap 1, as the field streamed by Hamilton was now significantly disadvantaged for the remainder of the race. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Hamilton-Puncture Mercedes switched Hamilton to the long game, soft tyres, for much of the race and Hamilton now seemed off the pace. Vettel fared better but was facing an uphill challenge, his extremely slim hopes of winning his 5th driver’s title could only be determined based on a mathematical improbability. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Vettel-Battles-Back If the Ferrari Driver could finish 2nd and Hamilton was outside the top 5 then Hamilton would have to wait for another race to claim his 4th driver’s title. On a side note, McLaren will have much to be concerned about after Fernando Alonso finished the Mexican GP in the points. Renault had 4 engine failures, with only Max Verstappen finishing and winning the race, will Renault do a Honda in 2018? Have Honda finally found their mojo? Only time will tell if McLaren rushed to judgment by switching from Honda to Renault. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Lewis-Hamilton-Donuts   But I am certain you know how the story ended. Vettel finished 4th, Hamilton bounced back to 9th and claimed his 4th driver’s title. However, he was made to work for his title in a similar manner he himself made Rosberg work for his title at the last race of the season in 2016. Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Lewis-Hamilton-Celebrates-Pit Hamilton joins some the F1’s legendary sporting icons Fangio, Prost, Schumacher and maybe to a lesser extent Vettel to claim 4 world drivers titles. Fangio, who is regarded as the sports all-time great has one more title to his name, Schumacher has two more. This Anglo Saxon writer, if you can call me a writer, is extremely pleased to see Hamilton, a man of mixed heritage, a black man stand tall and on an equal footing among the great sporting and very white icons of Formula One.  Mexican-Grand-Prix-2017-Dailycarblog-Hamilton-Waves-Flag
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