Mexico Grand Prix live: Lewis Hamilton wins as Max Verstappen loses third place to Sebastian Vettel after penalty

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Mexico Grand Prix, brought to you live from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

The championship battle remains alive for now, but Lewis Hamilton knows he must take a large chunk out of Nico Rosberg's lead this afternoon if he is to have any realistic chances of challenging over the final two races. Rosberg leads by 26 points, and should the German win the race with Hamilton failing to score, the battle will be over.

Hamilton has done himself a favour though in putting his Mercedes on pole position, although he will not have enjoyed seeing Rosberg's last-minute lap that put him second after struggling down in fourth behind the Red Bulls - who are led by 18-year-old Max Verstappen in third ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.

The race gets underway at 19:00 GMT, but we'll bring you all the build-up from Mexico in what should prove to be an exciting, nail-biting grand prix.

Latest:

• Hamilton wins the Mexican Grand Prix
• Rosberg finishes second to lead championship by 19 points
• Verstappen loses third after cutting chicane to fend of Vettel
• Vettel inherits third with Ricciardo moving up to fourth
• Top 5: 1. Hamilton 2. Rosberg 3. Vettel 4. Ricciardo 5. Vettel
• RET: Wehrlein (Lap 1)

Who will win the Mexico Grand Prix?

An hour to go until lights out, and the drivers are just heading in from a ferocious track parade where, despite there being two Mexican drivers in the field, all eyes were on Sergio Perez. The Force India driver disappointed on Saturday as he went out of qualifying in Q2, but he could well be one of the driver's to watch today as he comes through the field.

Esteban Gutierrez, the other Mexican out there driving for Haas, starts 17th and is definitely fighting for his future, with rumours circulating this morning that Renault's Kevin Magnussen is being eyed as his replacement should the American team decide to axe Gutierrez at the end of the season.

Arriving at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, we find ourselves at the highest track on the calendar at 2,229m above sea level. What effect will that have? Well, usually the engines would be down on power, but with the V6 hybrid turbo power units, they're able to manipulate the battery packs to keep the speeds up along the enormously long main straight. There is also less of a slip stream, as there is less air to punch a hole through to give less of an advantage to a car following behind.

So how did Saturday's qualifying session play out? Re-cap what happened in yesterday's exciting finish. 

UPDATE

Romain Grosjean will start from the pit lane, with the Haas team only just finishing a full floor change on his car. The Frenchman qualified 21st and last, given there was no Jolyon Palmer in qualifying, but despite the works being completed before the pit opens, he will have to start from the pits due to his car being in parc ferme conditions.

The best thing about the Mexico Grand Prix? The fans, obviously 

A Ferrari fan shows his support for the Italian team ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix 

So with the title up for grabs, is it the Lewis and Nico show? Not a chance, as Max Verstappen insists he's here "to win races", and his Red Bull boss Christian Horner gave him his full support. 

History lesson time. Who's been the most successful team to race in Mexico? Well, given there was a 30-year absence until F1 returned to the nation last year, it's a team many won't have heard of who leads the way in the form of Brabham and their 10 race podiums. McLaren have the most of any current teams with nine, while Williams have eight and Ferrari have seven. Mercedes? They only have the two from last year to boast, but you imagine they'll have a few more by the end of the day if all goes according to plan.