Rosberg can still dominate a race weekend
We’re used to seeing Hamilton cruise up front with no sort of response from Rosberg, but the Mexican GP was quite the opposite.
There was barely a moment in the race where Lewis was able to try and attack Nico, he was able to pull away from the start and the safety car restart then was able to keep a fairly consistent gap throughout the race.
It was also the first time in four attempts that Rosberg was able to convert a pole, his good qualifying form has finally paid off with a win.
Importantly for Nico, the result means he now heads Vettel by 21 points and is on course to avoid the embarrassment of finishing behind the Ferrari driver.
Now he needs to hope he can continue this good run of form into the final few races. Hamilton may have turned down the intensity but if Nico can get some momentum going then he may have the upper hand for the start of the 2016 season.
New tracks can have character
Too often have we seen new tracks built with nothing about them; Valencia, India, South Korea, there was never anything about those tracks that made you excited, but Mexico was different.
Okay, so maybe it isn’t an entirely new track, but F1 hasn’t been here in 23 years and is a very different layout to the one Mansell won in 1992.
The winding section in front of the Foro Sol stadium is certainly something we haven’t seen before, but it’s also something I think will define this race track.
Everything about it was electric. The roar of the enthusiastic fans as Perez went through, the podium ceremony in front of around 50,000 fans, it will all be a moment to remember and hopefully a reason to come to Mexico for years to come.
A weekend to forget for Ferrari
It was their first double retirement since the 2006 season when Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher both crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix.
It was also Vettel’s first retirement as a Ferrari driver (he was still classified in Belgium as he completed over 90% of the race), and probably one of the worst weekends of the four-time world champion’s career.
It would still appear there’s a problem with Raikkonen at Ferrari though, it’s another disappointing result for Kimi, and too often are we seeing him caught up in racing incidents and making mistakes that a world champion shouldn’t be making.
It will be interesting to see how his place at Ferrari develops, the team will need both of their drivers to be pushing the Mercedes next year, and I’m not sure we’ve got any evidence to suggest that “the Iceman” can.
The unsung heroes
There were good performances up and down the grid, but two drivers that I think haven’t received enough praise are Kvyatt and Rossi.
I think it’s important that we remember Daniil is just 21 years old. Not only that, but he’s beating Ricciardo, a driver who made Vettel look second best last year.
The Russian now leads his teammate by 4 points and for me has earned his right to stay at Red Bull for next year, I think it’s bizarre that his 2016 drive is being questioned despite his age and talent.
Alexander Rossi has only been at Marussia for 4 races now, but already he’s beaten Stevens on every race he’s entered and is ahead of him in the drivers standings.
Not only that, but he’s beginning to pick up his qualifying pace, beating Will in both the United States and the Mexican GP.
I think he has talent, and too often do we see drivers who perform well at Marussia not given the opportunities they deserve. I’d like to see him get a 2016 race seat.
