5 things we learned from the Mexico Grand Prix: Hamilton stays feisty even with title in the bag

Updated 03/11/2015 at 18:39 GMT

Nico Rosberg drew Lewis Hamilton into a battle on Sunday - not on track but over the radio - and there was plenty to learn about dedication and desire as F1 returned to Mexico for the first time in decades.

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain reacts after he took second place in the Mexican F1 Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, November 1, 2015. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Image credit: Reuters

BIG HEAD HAMILTON WON’T LET IT LIE

There was no easing off the gas for Hamilton despite having already taken his third world title - but the super-confident Brit needs to be careful his head doesn’t become as big as his second-place finisher’s sombrero.

Not for the first time, Hamilton questioned a team order – it’s his competitive nature – only this time, with intra-team relations on a knife-edge, it’s not what Mercedes needed.

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To Hamilton’s credit, this time he knew when to back off.

It is doubtful whether, if more were at stake, he would have taken the same approach.

Hamilton has matured this season, but blinkered by the determination to win, it is easy to see how, if the title had still been alive, he would have persisted in going against the team order. Doing something like that would surely create an irreparable rift.

Lewis Hamilton soaks team-mate Nico Rosberg in Champagne after the Mexican Grand Prix

Image credit: Reuters

It has always been a delicate political play for Mercedes, but while they were keen to capitalise on their time advantage over their competitors and make the protective move to change tyres on both cars, it perhaps needlessly put them into a difficult position.

Rosberg, as is his nature, happily agreed to the same call Hamilton contested. So perhaps next time they should demand Hamilton come in first, to avoid risk of him changing his mind once Rosberg has obeyed.

It will happen again, and it will do so when more is at stake.

Over the radio, Hamilton contested: “I think that’s the wrong call, but I’m coming in.” Engineer Pete Bonnington replied: “Ok, we’ll debate that later.”

Mercedes should learn from this, though. Because sometime in the future there may not be the opportunity to debate.

MORE THAN AN AMAZING ATMOSPHERE

Welcome to Mexico, the new home of Formula One.

What an atmosphere. If there was ever a lesson for a circuit developer wanting to build a track for the fans that attend, rather than putting all the focus on the ones watching on TV, this was it.

The 55,000-seater stadium section had seats as steep as the Bernabeau and put the spectators right on top of the action.

General view during the race

Image credit: Reuters

But while the fans were ecstatic to have F1 back in town, the future business potential of South America meant manufacturers were pretty happy to be there too.

Honda and Mercedes both make cars in Mexico and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “It is a huge market and very important market for us. We're not only producing cars in Mexico but also it's the sheer size that is very important for us.”

The fact that the race further widens the global claims of the sport also appealed to Ferrari, whose boss Maurizio Arrivabene deemed it “another opportunity to enlarge the sport” and said: “The show I think is more completed now with Austin, USA, Mexico now and Brazil.”

OUCH: FERRARI’S DOUBLE

An amazing statistic appeared when Sebastian Vettel retired from the race as, following Kimi Raikkonen’s earlier demise, it was Ferrari's first double retirement since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.

Such a run defines the current era of reliability, with cars far more “bullet proof” than they ever have been despite all the complex modern technology found within them.

Sebastian Vettel retires in Mexico

Image credit: AFP

Raikkonen went out when he collided with Valterri Bottas at Turn 4, breaking the Ferrari's suspension, while Vettel had an erratic race, first suffering a puncture in a first-corner collision with Daniel Ricciardo then spinning into retirement later in the race.

BOND BLOW FOR McLAREN AND RED BULL?

Williams may have had the 007 stickers on their car after co-creating the Jaguar used by the baddie in new movie Spectre but it’s Force India that could actually end up providing the hero’s wheels.

Aston Martin has been sniffing around the sport and it seems Force India – rather than other suitors Williams or Red Bull – could be where they make their home.

The potential deal is expected to deliver both branding and technology benefits and rumours suggest it will come with a major tie-up with Diageo brand Johnnie Walker.

That would be a big blow for both Red Bull – who were looking to do the Aston deal - and McLaren – who currently have a lucrative tie-up with the whiskey brand.

For Aston, it will put them in direct competition with McLaren and Ferrari – and given Force India’s steady progress up the grid and the continued use of a Mercedes engine, it could be a shrewd move.

MANOR MOVING OUT?

Further down the grid, it appears Manor is disintegrating.

The man synonymous with the Manor name, John Booth, and his trusty sidekick, sporting director Graeme Lowdon, will both quit at the end of they year. And Bob Bell left after five months.

Crucially, Bell was there long enough for team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick, the energy boss who put in £30m of his own money to save the team, to sign up a Mercedes engine deal.

Graeme Lowdon, President & CEO, Manor F1

Image credit: Reuters

And it seems perhaps the Northern Irish businessman is more in it for the money than for the fun.

The Mercedes deal sets the team off in the direction of respectability, as does a technical partnership with Williams. Their first new car in two years is rumoured to offer a 2.8s per lap improvement.

Add to that an FOM income guaranteed until 2017, and it’s a tasty proposition.

It’s just unfortunate for Fitzpatrick that there are a few other teams on the grid with similar sales ambitions...

Will Gray

Formula 1