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SPORTS Monday 28 october 2019
Continued from Previous Page would cover both options,"
Only Mercedes teammate Vettel said. "Neither (Mer-
Valtteri Bottas' third-place cedes) or us expected their
finish denied Hamilton the tires to last that long."
season championship by And Hamilton just kept go-
the slimmest of margins. ing. "He was cruising," Vet-
Hamilton needed to beat tel said. "Our strategy could
Bottas by 14 points, but have been sharper."
picked up 10 instead while Bottas earned his podium
earning his 10th win of the in a car that had to be re-
season and 83rd of his ca- paired overnight after his
reer. hard crash in qualifying. His
That sends the champi- pushing Vettel from behind
onship to next week's U.S. late in the race helped
Grand Prix, where Hamilton ease pressure on Hamilton
has won five times since at the front.
2012. He clinched the 2015 "The car felt good, as good
title there. as before the crash," Bottas
"It's been a good hunting said. "I had a small head-
ground for me," Hamilton ache in the morning. I don't
said of the Texas race. know if that was the tequila
But Mexico City was a big or the crash." Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, drives out of a curve during the Formula One Mexico
prize he badly wanted. Verstappen had a miser- Grand Prix auto race at the Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.
Hamilton had won the able start before rallying to Associated Press
2017 and 2018 champion- finish sixth.
ships here, but fared poorly Driving aggressive after Hamilton. when he touched Bottas' field passed him by.
in both races and didn't getting bumped off pole, Verstappen fought back front wing. The tire shred- "I always leave Max a lot
make the podium either the two-time defend- to pass Bottas on the sec- ded off and Verstappen of space," Hamilton said.
time. Drivers call the Mexi- ing race champion fell to ond lap, but suffered a drove nearly an entire lap "That's the smartest thing
co City winners' celebration eighth after the clip with tire puncture on the move with a bare wheel as the you can do."q
the biggest and wildest of
the season, and Hamilton
hadn't stood there since his
victory in 2016.
"You could see someone
else on the podium cel-
ebrating the win and you
wanted to do that," Hamil-
ton said.
Leclerc and Vettel had
started 1-2. Red Bull's Max
Verstappen had been
stripped of pole position for
driving too fast under a yel-
low flag after Bottas' crash
in the late stages of Satur-
day qualifying.
That penalty also let Hamil-
ton start third with a chance
to chase a win and the
championship.
Ferrari protected the lead
from the start as Vettel
moved to edge out Ham-
ilton on the long opening
straight. Hamilton then fell
to fifth after tangling with
Verstappen on the second
corner as they bumped
tires and both cars went
into the grass.
Hamilton's tire change on
Lap 23 proved pivotal as
he inched toward the front,
but it wasn't without worry.
"It feels like we stopped too
early," Hamilton radioed his
garage. "This is a long way
to go on these tires, man."
Ferrari split its pit strategies
with Vettel stopping once
and Leclerc twice. Both
drivers yielded the lead for
fresh tires. Leclerc finished
fourth. "I think we were con-
fident if we split the cars we