Formula 1®

DHL FASTEST LAP AWARD: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016

Daniel Ricciardo for the fourth time! The Australian clocked the fastest lap in the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016. His time of 01:21.134 minutes was a good second faster than that of Sebastian Vettel or Kimi Räikkönen. The Ferrari drivers took second and third place in the class this weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo had already set the fastest lap on three previous occasions during the current campaign. He is now second in this particular side-contest behind Nico Rosberg who leads on a score of six. Lining up behind the Australian are Lewis Hamilton on three fastest laps in 2016, Sebastian Vettel (two), Daniil Kvyat, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg and Kimi Räikkönen (one each). 

A key factor in Ricciardo posting the fastest time at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was his second pit stop. The Red Bull driver went for a very early tire change on Lap 1 during a virtual safety car period. He exchanged the supersofts he had used in qualifying for the medium compound which he then retained until Lap 50 when he switched to softs. It was shortly after this second stop that he recorded the fastest time.

The opposition were unable to keep up with his blistering pace. Most of the cars in the group of front-runners are normally on a technical par with the Red Bull, but they were on a one-stop strategy. During the race, almost all of them replaced their softer tires from qualifying with mediums, on which they then drove through to the end. By the time that Ricciardo emerged from his second stop, the cars on these harder tires, which had already covered a lot of laps, were unable to keep up.

In general, the fastest lap of any race is set towards the end. This is because the cars have used up most of their fuel and weigh less. Furthermore, the field tends to be more spread out than in the early stages of the race. Consequently, the likelihood of a driver having to overtake or lap another car while setting the fastest time is reduced. 

Following the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016, the logistics crews operating in the highest echelon of motorsport are permitted a short breather. The FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO DO BRASIL 2016 takes place on the weekend of 11th - 13th November. The individual teams, official tire supplier Pirelli, the FIA World Federation and the Formula 1 management have 700 tonnes of freight for transport to Sao Paulo.

Fastest race laps: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016

01 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 01:21.134 - on Lap 53
02 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 01:22.497 - on Lap 61
03 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 01:22.512 - on Lap 47
04 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 01:22.596 - on Lap 66
05 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 01:22.792 - on Lap 43
06 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 01:22.887 - on Lap 66
07 Kevin Magnussen (Renault) 01:23.146 - on Lap 53
08 Romain Grosjean (Haas) 01:23.278 - on Lap 53
09 Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) 01:23.288 - on Lap 50
10 Esteban Gutierrez (Haas) 01:23.456 - on Lap 63

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