in the high speed section and had to pit for new tyres and came out in 19th place. With Hamilton now out of the points, Vettel needed to finish 2nd in order to keep his championship hopes alive and he swiftly made his way through the field, while Hamilton, with rear diffuser damage, struggled to make his way past Sainz. In the 24th lap, Hülkenberg retired with an engine problem in what was his fourth retirement in five races and his third in a row. Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso ground to a halt on the 31st lap and brought out the Virtual Safety Car, allowing Räikkönen to jump Ocon into 3rd place and Stroll to jump Pérez into 5th place. Vettel, by the flag, had managed to battle his way to fourth place, but it wasn't enough to stop Hamilton, who finished 9th, from winning the World Championship. Ricciardo (who had retired after a few laps while running in the points), Sainz and Marcus Ericsson, having been running the points for a long time, were the other retirees. Verstappen won for the third time in his career ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Classification Qualifying Notes – Daniel Ricciardo received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components. – Brendon Hartley received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components. – Fernando Alonso received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components. – Stoffel Vandoorne received a 35-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components. – Pierre Gasly failed to set a time within the 107% requirement, but received permission from the stewards to start the race; he also received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components. Race Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings Note: Only the top five positions are included for the sets of standings. Bold text indicates the 2017 World Champions. References Mexico Mexican Grand Prix Grand Prix Mexican Grand Prix