Race Notes:
- Lance Stroll finished sixth with Felipe Massa 11th in the Mexican Grand Prix
- Both cars started on the ultrasoft Pirelli tyre with Felipe starting 10th and Lance 11th
- Lance and Felipe both had good starts, initially running with Felipe eighth and Lance 10th at the end of Lap 1
- Felipe ran as high as sixth before a slow puncture picked up at the start forced him to pit for the soft tyre on Lap 3, re-joining in 16th
- Lance moved up to P4 before pitting for the supersoft tyre under a Virtual Safety Car period on Lap 32, re-joining in P5
- Vettel, who was recovering from an early unscheduled pitstop, got past Lance late in the race to leave the Canadian sixth
- Felipe moved up to 10th as the rest of the field pitted, before losing the position to Hamilton in the latter stages of the race
- Lance moves up to 10th in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Felipe in 11th. The team remains fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with 76 points
- Congratulations from Williams Martini Racing to Lewis Hamilton on securing his fourth world title
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We had a good start and both cars got into reasonably good positions, apparently without damage, but that proved not to be the case. Felipe had a slow puncture from some minor contact in the first corner and we had to box him on the second lap. We fitted prime tyres to go the end. We were reasonably confident that tyre would go the distance and Felipe managed it very well. He had good pace throughout the entire race and if not for Vettel and Hamilton coming through from the back, he would have perhaps got a point or two. So it was a shame for Felipe because the car was there to get points today and he drove extremely well. On Lance’s side, he showed strong pace and ran a great first stint on the ultrasoft tyre. He had some good fortune with the Virtual Safety Car which actually gained him a place over Perez. We were also able to fit the supersoft tyre at that stage to go to the end, so we had the tyre life and compound advantage over the two Force Indias. At one point it looked possible he could have taken the position off Ocon but it was just out of reach. It was a great sixth place finish though so Happy Birthday to Lance and well done for a great achievement today! We’ve taken some further advantage in our fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship and well done to the team for getting two cars home and in good shape to go into the final two races. Finally, congratulations to Lewis for his fourth World Championship, he drove a terrific season and it’s very well deserved.
Lance Stroll: I think it was a very controlled race. I had a really good start, but then lost some positions as I was on the outside. There were some technical issues and crashes and so I gained some places due to that. We had a good idea all along, assuming I was going to stay in one piece and everything was going to continue along smoothly, we could have a good race. I had a great first stint, a great second stint and in the end I wasn’t quite close enough to get into the DRS zone to pass Ocon. I was really managing the tyres and the car was balanced very well, so a big thanks to the team. It was a great day, a great result and a great birthday present. Big congratulations to Lewis, he is the king of Formula One, there is no doubt about it. It is incredible what he has accomplished. He is a big inspiration for young drivers like me.
Felipe Massa: I’m really disappointed. It was a shame to stop so soon with the puncture at the beginning of the race. The car was good, competitive and I’m sure it would have been a completely different situation if we didn’t have the puncture. That’s the way it is sometimes. I’m happy for the team as we scored more points than Renault with two races to go but it was really a shame for me to have another unlucky moment.
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