It was another 1-2 for Mercedes at the U.S. Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton (by finishing second) racked up enough points to win his sixth world title.
AUSTIN, Texas—Sunday, November 3rd—On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton tried to conserve his tires–just as he had done last weekend in Mexico–and to win again on the 2019 Formula 1 campaign. But the tactic didn’t work this time. Teammate Valtteri Bottas passed him with only four laps to go to win the Emirates United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
Hamilton’s consolation prize was anything but that. He won his sixth world driver’s title–only one shy of tying the record held by Michael Schumacher. Max Verstappen finished third in his Red Bull.
“It’s overwhelming if I’m honest,” Hamilton said after earning the crown. “It was a tough race today. Valtteri did a great job, so congratulations to him.”
“It’s a nice win. Feels good,’ Bottas responded. “Felt very good since yesterday in the car. We have a strong pace, and I’m thrilled with the win. The only thing I could have done in terms of the Championship race, the rest was up to Lewis (Hamilton).”
When asked how many more titles he could win, Hamilton was very fair about his answer. “I don’t know about championships, but as an athlete, I feel as fresh as I can be. These next races, we will keep pushing, and I want to give a big shout out to all the fans and the Brits who have come out here this weekend.”
Lewis Hamilton: My dad told me when I was like six or seven never to give up, and that’s the family motto.
For Verstappen, third was satisfying, but he also knew he had a chance for second. “We did the best we could, and they were just a bit faster today, I tried to stay close and see if something happened.”
Bottas took the lead at the start and held a huge gap until the Finn had to pit on lap 15. Hamilton needed to pit midway through the race but decided to continue for another lap as Bottas regained the lead. But Bottas took his final pit stop on lap 36, giving Hamilton the lead until the Briton’s tires began to wear out.
That allowed Bottas to pass on lap 52 and remain in the lead until the end of the race. Verstappen got close, but when the American Haas F1 team’s Kevin Magnussen suffered brake failure at turn 19, the Dutchman had to obey yellow flags, which robbed him of the chance of overtaking Hamilton for second. As for the second Haas f1 car driven by Romain Grosjean, the Frenchman was one of the last entries to finish, ending up 17th.
Besides Magnussen, two other drivers retired from the race.
Sebastian Vettel struck a bump at turn nine and damaged his Ferrari rear right side suspension, ending his day on lap eight. Robert Kubica left for the day with a hydraulic issue in his Williams.
Alex Albon struck Carlos Sainz Jr. on the opening lap, pitted for medium tires. But he still did well enough in his Red Bull to finish in fifth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo had his best finish of the season since Canada, taking sixth, while the two McLaren’s maintained their ‘best of the rest form,’ finishing Lando Norris and Sainz in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finished ninth and tenth as a result of Dani Kvyat striking Perez on the last lap, which resulted in a penalty for his actions while Kvyat was in ninth place. It was the second race in a row that Kvyat has done this to another driver.
Although Bottas lost a chance for a title, the Finn was a good sportsman, congratulating his teammate on his success.
“Big congratulations to him (Hamilton),” Bottas replied afterward. “I failed on my target this year, but there is always next year. He deserves it. He is a great champion.”
