This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
On Sunday, October 27, 2019, Lewis Hamilton secured a hard-fought victory in the Mexican Grand Prix, but his hopes of clinching his sixth world championship were dashed as he narrowly missed out on the title.
Hamilton's Mercedes team pulled off a tactical masterstroke, stopping him eight laps later than pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and 14 laps before Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari team-mate, who finished second.
Leclerc's early change for rubber ensured he would have to come in again, which he did with 27 laps remaining.
Hamilton assumed the lead for the first time and managed to get his wearing rubber to the chequered flag to claim a fine win, with Vettel finishing second and Charles Leclerc fourth.
Hamilton was delighted to finally claim victory at a track that has not been the most successful for him in recent years, and he was quick to praise his Mercedes team after taking the chequered flag.
"The guys have continued to work incredibly hard, stayed focused. We came here thinking we were on the back foot, knowing that it's a difficult race for us, (and) we pulled through," Hamilton said on Sky Sports.
"I had quite a bit of damage on my car so the race was quite a bit of a struggle, but I just kept my head down. I'm so grateful for today," he added.
