Rosberg held off Vettel to finish second and rubber-stamp Hamilton’s title.
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Trailblazing Lewis Hamilton was left close to tears and nearly speechless after securing his third drivers’ world championship with victory at a frantic United States grand prix last night.
Despite starting from pole, Rosberg dropped to fifth after Hamilton muscled his way past his team-mate on the long, uphill run to turn one. At Turn 12, Rosberg lost traction and his vehicle swerved off the tracks.
It was a cruel end to what has been a cruel season for the German, who was poised to challenge Hamilton after wins at Spain, Monaco and Austria before disasters in Hungary, Italy and Russian Federation.
Hamilton then managed to stay out of the surrounding chaotic events and recover to P2 behind Rosberg amidst Virtual Safety Cars periods and other race neutralisations.
“I can’t really find the right words this second to tell you how fantastic this feels, and I couldn’t have done it without this team who’ve powered me for the past three years and nurtured me…” “I wanted to get the three that Ayrton had”.
In the most dramatic race of the season, Hamilton demonstrated the mental and physical fortitude that has stood him out from the rest this season to land another championship title in spectacular fashion. With limited grip in the slippery conditions, Hamilton understeered into his team-mate, pushing Rosberg wide after a small amount of contact and taking the lead. “When you win a title that signifies I guess your greatness and the people around you”.
The German made his feelings very apparent afterwards, throwing a cap back at Hamilton when it was tossed in his direction before they went on the podium.
The success puts Hamilton in esteemed company, leaving him level with Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and Nelson Piquet.
“I obviously wouldn’t have been impressed if they’d crashed but Nico opened the steering wheel up and avoided the collision and that attitude was very good for the team”.
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“For me, that was the target”, he said.
