Mexican Grand Prix strategy report

Nico Rosberg was in control throughout the Mexican Grand Prix, taking pole position and claiming his fourth win of the season, finishing two seconds clear of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The race produced several interesting strategy storylines, here are the biggest ones:

Merc change strategy

Out front, Mercedes was unchallenged. Rosberg was first, Hamilton was close behind in second and a one-stop race was the original plan. However, there were concerns from the team that the medium tyres would not last until the very end, despite the drivers pitting quite late to switch to the primes – Rosberg on lap 26 and Hamilton on lap 28.

The constructors’ champions opted to stop for a second time and change to another set of the mediums. Rosberg and Hamilton were both able to stop without losing position, so there wasn’t much to lose. However, Hamilton wasn’t happy with the decision and contested it over team radio.

Rosberg pitted for a new set of Pirelli’s primes on lap 46 and the recently-crowned drivers’ champion was instructed to do the same on the next lap. But he said his tyres “felt good” and he wasn’t sure why they needed to stop again, feeling he could stay out.

However, Mercedes made it clear that if he did, his tyres would go down to the canvas and he would be in trouble. As is often the case in these disagreements, the driver did what he was told and stopped on lap 48. But, what would have happened if he had stayed out?

Well, for one, he would have got a stern telling off from Mercedes afterwards. But home hero Sergio Perez also stayed out and he was able to keep up a good pace right to the end, despite completing his one stop 10 laps earlier than Hamilton.

The deployment of the Safety Car just after Rosberg and Hamilton’s trips to the pit lane, to clear Sebastian Vettel’s crashed car, would have helped keep his tyres alive for longer but Perez is renowned for his low tyre wear, Hamilton is not. Rosberg would have been much closer on the restart too and Hamilton would likely have been an easy target.

One stop comes to life

Perez was the only driver of those to reach the finish to complete a one-stop strategy and it really came to life with the Safety Car appearance late in the race, which helped him to save his tyres and make it to the end on the medium compound.

It was a very impressive final stint of 53 laps on the primes, much longer than anyone anticipated. A one-stop was expected to be the most common strategy prior to the Mexican Grand Prix but the Safety Car, higher temperatures and a more rubbered-in track meant for many, that was not possible.

Perez pulled it off though and despite being on worn rubber, he finished eighth, just ahead of Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean. It was a risk to stay out and do something different, with Force India feeling he would lose track position if he did pit. Still, it worked out in the end.

Bottas pits early

It was a surprise to see Valtteri Bottas pit at the end of the eighth lap to change onto the mediums. The trip to the pits was far earlier than many expected, even for a two-stop race, but he was looking to go for a long second stint.

I doubt Williams were expecting to go all the way and even if the Safety Car hadn’t been deployed, he would have still had to pit. This could have caused him to lose track position and the podium that he went on to achieve, even with mid-race contact.

He was squeezed by Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 5 during an intense battle for sixth, with the Ferrari driver breaking his rear suspension with the contact. He retired and Bottas continued, unlike their scrap in Russia.

Bottas stopped a lap later than most behind the Safety Car but because of the slower pace, he didn’t lose any places and emerged behind Daniil Kvyat in fourth. With higher top speed, he easily passed the Red Bull on the restart and claimed a brilliant third.

A mix of tyre choices

For the final stint after the Safety Car, a number of different strategies were used in terms of tyre choice. Some went for new mediums, like the top three, while the likes of Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen went for used options.

Marcus Ericsson and Jenson Button had more tyres to use following qualifying, so they went for new softs. This meant we were treated to some good battles and fluctuating pace in the closing stages. Despite being on the options, Kvyat lost out to Bottas and the Williams soon pulled away, but Felipe Massa couldn’t do the same and find his way through.

Jack Leslie @JackLeslieF1

Longest Stints

Soft: Hamilton (28 laps)
Medium: Perez (53 laps)

Most Stops

Sainz, Ericsson, Nasr (3 – including drivethroughs)