Austin (Texas): Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 50th Formula One victory here Sunday with a pole-to-flag US Grand Prix drive that kept his title hopes alive and trimmed Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg’s lead to 26 points with three races remaining.
Rosberg, who had been chasing his 10th triumph of the season, finished second on a sunny Texan afternoon with a big crowd but little drama – even if Hamilton spent much of it worrying about reliability.
The straightforward victory was Hamilton’s fourth here in five seasons and ended a barren stretch for the triple World Champion dating back to his last win in Germany in July.
“This has always been a good hunting ground for me,” said the Briton, the third driver after Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost to win 50 races, in a podium interview conducted by British actor Gerard Butler.
“I love being here in the States, it very much feels like home,” he added, with tennis player Venus Williams and skier Lindsey Vonn watching on. “All I can do is do my best and continue to drive as I have this weekend. Nico has been driving fantastically well all year so the battle will continue.”
Rosberg, finished 4.5 seconds behind and had dropped back to third at the start before events lent the German a helping hand. Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who had seized second at the start, was third for Red Bull but his Dutch teammate Max Verstappen failed to finish due to a gearbox failure.
Rosberg, whose advantage means he can still take his first title without having to win again this season, said it was ‘damage limitation’. The German has 331 points to Hamilton’s 305, with seven points the difference between a win and second place.
Verstappen had pushed Rosberg hard early on but any hope of getting between the Mercedes drivers ended when he pitted with his team not expecting it. The 18-year-old then dropped to a crawling pace before pulling across the gravel and parking up with smoke emitting from his car.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished fourth but a bungled stop put paid to teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s race with the Finn leaving before the wheel had been fully detached.
Reuters
