Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth Formula One world title on Sunday after finishing second in the U.S. Grand Prix. First place has taken the Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The 34-year-old Brit was second in the table of F1’s most successful drivers, behind only Michael Schumacher, who has seven world titles.
Max Verstappen was third with his Red Bull, while Charles Leclerc finished fourth with Ferrari.
A crowd that included Hamilton’s parents waited for the consecration of the British, who could be champion even without scoring points. But the Mercedes driver showed that he is a fierce competitor and tried until the end to add his seventh victory in the United States.
“Honestly I’m overwhelmed, today was a very tough race,” Hamilton said. “Valtteri did a great job, I can only congratulate him.
The beads were simple for Hamilton, who knew he’d win the title if he got to at least eighth no matter what Bottas did. But any assumption that he was going to take it easy to finish in the points disappeared quickly, as Hamilton attacked from the start and before the first lap had climbed two places and was third.
But after trying all along the course, with four laps to go, it was clear that Hamilton would not be able to do anything to take the win away from Bottas.
“I pushed as hard as I could in the hope of winning, but unfortunately I didn’t make it,” he said.