Lewie in US
Grand Prixs Hamilton joined the elite group of triple
Formula One world champions on Sunday after winning a thrilling US Grand Prix
that kept the crowd on tenterhooks right to the very end.
"That's the greatest moment of my life,"
he gasped over the team radio, choking back the tears, after crossing the line
2.8 seconds ahead of German team mate Nico Rosberg who had led before a late
mistake.
The first British driver to win back-to-back titles,
Hamilton realized a lifelong ambition to equal the tally of his boyhood idol
Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian triple champion who died in 1994.
Ferrari's four-times champion Sebastian Vettel
finished third, after starting 13th and fighting back to chase Rosberg
nose-to-tail over the final lap with the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Had Vettel passed Rosberg, the celebrations for the
'double double' — with Mercedes retaining their constructors' title two weeks
ago in Russia — would have remained on hold.
"I'm just overwhelmed," said Hamilton, who
had needed to beat Vettel by nine points and Rosberg by two to take the crown
with three races to spare. "There were so many times when I thought I had
lost the race."
Interviewed on the podium by pop's very own 'rocket
man', British pop singer Elton John, Hamilton sprayed the champagne with
abandon while Rosberg looked shell shocked and barely reacted.
Before the podium ceremony, Hamilton tossed his team
mate a cap to wear. The German threw it back in disgust. No words were
necessary.
The victory on a rollercoaster afternoon was also
Hamilton's third in four grands prix held in Austin and made the 30-year-old
the first driver to win 10 or more races in successive seasons.
He was also only the second Briton since Jackie
Stewart in 1973 to win three titles.
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