During the Mexican Grand Prix 2019, Lewis Hamilton overcame an initial assault from Max Verstappen to take victory. During the press conference, the world champion elect was asked if he would treat Max Verstappen differently after the collision.
Hamilton said, “Err… yep. I think every driver is slightly different. Some are smarter; some are like very smart, aggressive and some are silly with it. So, through those experiences of racing with people, you give some more space and others you don’t have to. They’re quite respectful. But yeah, Max, it’s very likely you’re going to come together with Max if you don’t give him extra space, so most of the time you do. But as I said, in my experience, I didn’t have a lot of space to give him extra space. But I don’t think it was intentional or anything like that. It was just… he’s a magnet for those kind of things but yeah, nonetheless, I managed to keep the car together and in a straight line, fortunately.”
Sebastian Vettel & Lewis Hamilton were asked in the press conference whether Verstappen has to be treated differently to other drivers… 😆#MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #Seb5 #F1 pic.twitter.com/CFPb9rIui8
— Sebastian Vettel #5 (@sebvettelnews) October 27, 2019
In the early stages of the race, Scuderia Ferrari had the upper hand before Mercedes took over in the pit stop phase. Soon, Lewis Hamilton took the lead, with Sebastian Vettel chasing after him. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas leap-frogged Charles Leclerc in the pother Ferrari to round out the podium.
In all honesty, it was incredible to see Mercedes snatch a double podium at a circuit that they normally struggle at. Red Bull put in an incredible display initially, courtesy Alex Albon, before it became a Ferrari vs Mercedes show. In the latter stages of the race, the top 4 were closing in on each other and were all on the straight at the same time in the final couple of laps. However, Lewis Hamilton held firm to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and Mercedes’ third win in Mexico.
