“Nico drove a fantastic race and it’s just been fantastic to be here in Mexico,” said Hamilton, who clinched the season championship last week at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. “I’ve never seen a crowd like this; it’s like football game. The fans have been amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
With the championship decided, Rosberg is left to battle with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for second place. The win over Hamilton by 1.954 seconds gave Rosberg a 21-point advantage over Vettel with two races remaining on the schedule.
Rosberg said that there were a few anxious moments along the way to his 13th career Formula One victory and fourth of 2015.
“It was tricky because there was really no grip on the rears — especially after the safety car, with cold tires,” Rosberg said. “But in the end I felt comfortable. The performance this weekend is down to great teamwork with my engineers, as we found a great setup for the special conditions here, so a big thank you to them. Now I look forward to the race in Brazil. It´s always great to come with a win to the next race, so hopefully I can carry this form to Interlagos.”
Vettel was forced to retire early after crashing on lap 52.
“That was the best podium of my life,” Rosberg said. “Thousands and thousands of people singing your name after winning on a great track … it’s unbelievable. In that moment, you feel like a rock star on stage, and I enjoyed every second.
“The performance this weekend is down to great teamwork with my engineers, as we found a great setup for the special conditions here, so a big thank you to them. Now I look forward to the race in Brazil. It’s always great to come with a win to the next race, so hopefully I can carry this form to Interlagos.”
Valtteri Bottas completed the podium with a third-place finish, 14.592 seconds back, for Williams.
“When you drive here, you don’t really look around. But after the race you have the time, and I was lucky enough to be on the podium, because it was incredible really, just got goosebumps and everything,” Bottas said “It was pretty special and I think the best drivers’ parade I’ve ever had as well and really a lot of support from the fans.”
Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Bottas passed Kvyat late after a restart on a caution period.
“I’m happy with how all 71 laps went,” Kvyat said. “We’ve been very strong this weekend and the track has suited us quite well. I think this weekend showed we can be champions if we get back on the path. I believe in this team, I believe in us and I believe in our future.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that it was tough to see Kvyat just miss out on a podium.
“It was a great shame for Dany to miss out on a podium finish today,” Horner said. “He had done everything right.”
“Unfortunately, the safety car, which came out in the closing stages of the race bunched up the field and, given the straight line speed advantage of the Williams over our cars, it effectively gave Bottas a free pass to get in front of Dany. Nevertheless, fourth and fifth means we pick up a respectable number of points.”
Bottas moved ahead of Kimi Raikkonen for fourth place in the championship. Raikkonen is fifth, followed by by Massa, Kvyat and Ricciardo.