While the race at the top stayed predictable until the checkered flag, a late Safety Car benefited both those on medium tires as well as Mercedes-powered customer teams.

In the end, it was Nico Rosberg who crossed the line first, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas stealing P3 away from Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat as soon as the Safety Car cleared off the track. Daniel Ricciardo finished P5, while Felipe Massa was 6th overall.

Mexico’s own Sergio Perez could only manage a P8 finish, despite his one stop strategy looking good during the early part of the race.

Overall, it was a pretty good 71 laps at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for everyone except Ferrari and McLaren – but more so the Scuderia. Vettel got unlucky early on after making contact with Ricciardo and limping away with a rear puncture (he would ultimately retire), while Raikkonen had to call it quits on lap 22.

It was the first time since the 2006 Australian GP that neither Ferrari car finished a Formula One race.

10 Remarks About the Mexican GP

– Williams looked good again after their poor showing in Texas and Bottas showed a really strong pace overall. The Safety Car also helped him reel in Kvyat late in the race and secure P3.

– The Bottas-Kvyat battle is a perfect example of how a late Safety Car can change the course of a team’s race. The Red Bull was looking really good before the SC deployment, though as soon as the restart happened, Bottas was able to use his straight line speed and pass the Red Bull almost effortless.

– Hey look at that! It says ‘007’ on the wing mirrors of those Williams cars. Of course, this was because Williams helped build the Jaguar C-X75 that chases after Daniel Craig’s DB10.

– Rosberg drove like a man possessed, keeping Hamilton in his turbulent air constantly. In terms of pace, both drivers were nearly identical.

– Seeing Red Bull put Softs on both Kvyat and Ricciardo’s cars during the SC intervention felt pretty clever. I definitely thought they might even be challenging the Mercedes cars (which remained on Mediums), but it turns out that Mediums were the better tire choice.

– The atmosphere at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was simply spectacular. Even Lewis acknowledged that it was almost like being at a football match during his interview after the race. The crowd was amazing.

– Speaking of which, everybody went nuts whenever Sergio Perez would drive by, not to mention every time he passed somebody. Unfortunately for the Mexican, his Force India lost some of its pace mid-race and the team chose not to bring him in while the Safety Car was on the track.

– Only one of the two Lotuses scored points in Mexico, and it was Romain Grosjean finishing P10. They benefited from the late Safety Car as well. By the way, Maldonado was fastest through the speed trap at 366.4 km/h (227.4 mph).

– During the first pit stops, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen moved up to P3, but ultimately failed to keep in front of the quicker Force India cars.

– If Red Bull somehow ends up with a Honda power unit, they better hope that the Japanese manufacturer gets its act together next year because so far, it’s been nothing but one big disappointing roller coaster ride.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Race Results

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams
4. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
6. Felipe Massa, Williams
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
8. Sergio Perez, Force India
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso
10. Romain Grosjean, Lotus
11. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus
12. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
13. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
14. Jenson Button, McLaren
15. Alex Rossi, Marussia
16. Will Stevens, Marussia