SOME YOU WIN , SOME YOU LEWS

Hamilton fury over tyres gaffe turns to delight as Mercedes claim sixth Constructors’ title in a row

LEWIS HAMILTON accused Mercedes of a “f**k up” that denied him victory in Japan – before joining his team to toast their sixth straight world championship double.

The Brit was livid that a questionable strategy decision – one which he blasted on the radio – saw him finish third as team-mate Valtteri Bottas stormed to a surprise triumph at the Japanese Grand Prix.

But his anger was short-lived as he joined his team to celebrate their remarkable sixth successive constructors’ world title and even belted out a rendition of Queen’s We Are The Champions.

Hamilton will wrap up a sixth world title of his own if he wins in Mexico a week next Sunday and Bottas, whose previous victory came back in April, finishes fifth or lower.

But it could have been another story had Mercedes not fluffed their strategy and ultimately cost Hamilton a crucial 10 seconds. They opted to keep the Brit out for three laps longer than Bottas, then put him on the wrong tyres, which forced him to make a second unscheduled stop.

“That was just a f**k up,” said Hamilton, complaining to his race engineer Pete Bonnington. “How have I lost that much time? I am basically out of the race.”

He is now 64 points clear of Bottas with four rounds and 104 points left to play for. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate is the only man who can stop him from moving to within one title of Michael Schumacher’s record of seven.

But Hamilton is not expecting to wrap things up in Mexico City for a third year on the trot.

He said: “We still have a battle. I don’t anticipate it will be Mexico where I win the championship. We could have been done better today.

“We should have got a one-two, but the strategy was not optimum for me. I came out from the pits and realised I lost 10 seconds. If they told me I would have been that far behind Valtteri, I would have stopped earlier.”

For Bottas, it was a morale-boosting victory after a dreadful run of form that has seen his team-mate spearhead Mercedes’ title challenge.

Ferrari once again failed to get the best from their car. Sebastian Vettel, who started on pole, was second, and Charles Leclerc sixth, before post-race sanctions dropped him to seventh.

FIGURE OF FRUSTRATION Lewis took out his anger over the team radio