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Arrivabene congratulates Lewis on fifth crown

10:24, 29 Oct 2018

byBobby Vincent

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has congratulated Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on his fifth world championship after the Mexican Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had to win the race to keep his very slight title ambitions alive, but a dominant Max Verstappen drive took that opportunity away from the German.

This handed the title to Hamilton and Arrivabene has been very humble in defeat.

"Today's result reflects the determination of the entire team, after a less than ideal qualifying on a track where aerodynamic and tyre management are fundamentally important," Arrivabene said.

"Seb (Vettel) and Kimi (Raikkonen) both drove great races. Thanks to the efforts of the team, both here at the track and back in Maranello, the Constructors' Championship is still undecided and the team has closed the points gap over the past two races.

"We are therefore determined to fight all the way to the finish, starting with the next grand prix in Brazil. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his fifth Drivers' World Championship title."

Ferrari overall had a better Mexican Grand Prix than their rivals Mercedes, with Vettel and Raikkonen (second and third) finishing above Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas (fourth and fifth).

Scuderia now trail the Silver Arrows by 55 points in the Constructors' Championship with only two rounds remaining in the championship.