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Lewis Hamilton won his fifth F1 world championship, making him the second most successful driver of all time.
The 33-year-old becomes the third man in history to win five world titles. It corresponds to the race of the Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio and has two delays on the record holder of all time, Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton needed only to finish seventh while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the race to become champion, but the German could only settle for second place behind the dominant Max Verstappen despite a courageous and solid run .
It was a tough race for the Mercedes driver, who had long struggled with tire problems, but his final position just off the podium was more than enough to seal the biggest achievement of an illustrious career.
At the end of the race, Hamilton pushed his car into a series of celebratory "donut" rounds in the stadium section of the track before beckoning to the crowd of 135,000 spectators.
Hamilton said, "It's a very strange feeling at the moment, it's been won through a lot of hard work, in many races, and I'm very grateful for all the work, for all those involved.
"Finally, when Fangio did it with Mercedes, it's an incredible moment.
"It was a horrible race, I had a good start and I was progressing without really knowing what happened after that, I was just trying to hold on and bring the car home."
Vettel was separated from his post-race interview to congratulate Hamilton, the two men kissing each other after a titanic battle.
Vettel said, "Well deserved, congratulations to him and his team, they have done a great job all year long, we have to stay there and accept that, we would have liked to stay longer, but it 's not. was not the case. "
Under normal, Mercedes seals in Mexico
The race was reminiscent of what could have been for Vettel, as his Hamilton and Mercedes teammates, Valtteri Bottas, collapsed due to excessive tire wear and his Ferrari advanced with an aggressive strategy to put pressure on the Red Bulls in the last laps.
But it was too little and too late for Vettel, whose season, once so promising, proved disappointing in the summer and early fall with a series of mistakes made by the pilot and the team.
Hamilton and Mercedes were well below the high standards they had imposed since they had won six races out of seven, from the German Grand Prix in late July to the Japanese race in early October.
But this race – and the consistent excellence that drove Vettel and Ferrari to make mistakes and win races with the highest quality driving and teamwork – put Hamilton in a comfortable position.
And that was enough to seal the championship despite a relatively dull race, perhaps the poorest in terms of absolute performance of the season.
A struggle all along
Hamilton had started the race with the hope of winning the title with a win, and he pitched a challenge for the race at the first corner.
But Verstappen escaped by force, leaving behind Red Bull of the podium, Daniel Ricciardo, after a bad start, and the Dutchman never went back.
Verstappen kept control throughout the race, which allowed his Mercedes rider to start fighting the tires.
Behind Verstappen, Hamilton never seemed to be comfortable, complaining shortly after his first pit stop that the tires he was equipped with did not feel well.
As the relay advanced, he fell further and further as Mercedes tried to persuade him to handle his tires.
Shortly after the half distance, Vettel, who had started in fourth place, had pbaded Ricciardo for third place, then took Hamilton on lap 39, with 32 goals to go.
Hamilton continued to fall and on lap 47 he blocked a wheel under pressure from Ricciardo and made a wide bend at the first corner. He then begged his team that his tires were finished.
He unearthed new balloons and joined the group with 24 rounds to go on a series of ultra-softwares. He stepped back to make sure that he could go to the end without drama.
Vettel saves a bit of self-respect
As Hamilton struggled, Vettel began to think of a potential victory. He made a second pit stop on lap 47 and, when Verstappen stopped again one lap later, Vettel was four seconds behind Ricciardo, who was carrying old tires, and five seconds behind his teammate.
Vettel quickly caught up with Ricciardo, but the Australian seemed able to hold the Ferrari until the end, until his car failed for the eighth time this season and that he withdraws on lap 62 to promote Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on the final podium.
Ricciardo's retirement worried Red Bull somewhat and Verstappen was on the radio to implore the team to lower its engine to minimize the risk of failure.
But his second win of the year was a win in a race that, despite the impressive performance of Verstappen, only concerned the man who finished fourth.
Driver of the day
What happens next?
Brazil in two weeks. Red Bull should return to a more normal level of competitiveness. But can Hamilton beat a race that has seen him never win a race in a season after winning the championship before the last event?
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