Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes struggled to Mexican GP win

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton: Mercedes struggled to Mexican GP win

A hard-fought victory for Lewis and the Silver Arrows.

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 27 October 2019 22:12

Lewis Hamilton admits his Mexican Grand Prix victory on Sunday was a “struggle”, but remains delighted that the team managed to pull through even with the troubles he had with his car.

Early on in the race, the Brit collided with Max Verstappen which left both cars damaged, with Hamilton’s floor visibly messy after the race. That, alongside constant complaints of tyres not feeling sufficient, left him having to strategise the best method of race management along with his engineers.

In the end, Mercedes pulled it off at the expense of Ferrari, who had to settle for second and fourth for Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.

Article continues under video

Hamilton knows he had to fight and claw his way to this particular win, in front of an audience which he described as the greatest he has witnessed.

“Firstly, got to applaud this incredible crowd. This is like the best crowd I've ever seen, I've never seen anything like this,” he said after winning in Mexico City.

“Today is an incredible result. Huge thanks to my team, Mercedes and our partners here. The guys who just continue to work incredibly hard.

“We came here thinking we'd be on the back foot, knowing that it's a difficult race for us, but we pulled through.

“I had quite a bit of damage on my car, the race was quite a bit of a struggle. I just kept my head down.

“It seemed like a long second stint, but, man, grateful for today.”

Hamilton survives Verstappen collision to win in Mexico, but title wait goes onRead more

Even though he was victorious, the championship was not decided after Valtteri Bottas finished third, gaining enough points to take the battle to the next race in the United States.

For Hamilton, though, it doesn’t matter where or when the title win comes.

“I don't mind. I love racing. I take it one race at a time,” he explained.

“This is a race I've wanted to win for some time, and it's always been tricky for us.

“So, I'm incredibly humbled by today's opportunity and the car holding it together the way it did, and the team executing the best strategy just to hold up the Ferraris.”

The five-time world champion will claim his sixth title if he outscores team-mate Bottas by four points in the USA next month.