Hamilton clinches 6th world title; Bottas takes USGP win

Lewis Hamilton’s teammate caught him Sunday. His rivals are still a long way from passing him overall.

At Circuit of the Americas, a track he’s largely dominated, the Mercedes driver from Stevenage, England, clinched his sixth Formula One world championship by finishing second in the United States Grand Prix.

For most of the race, it looked like Hamilton might take all the spoils, a testament to the grip he has on modern F1. Starting fifth on the grid, he led with five laps to go. He just ran out of rubber.

“My dad told me when I was like six or seven years old never to give up,” Hamilton said. “That’s kind of the family motto. I was pushing as hard as I could. I was hopeful I would be able to win, but didn’t have it in the tires unfortunately.”

Degrading tires allowed his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, to chase

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain races during the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix race at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday.

down the victory. Bottas started on pole and made two pit stops. Hamilton tried to get by with one, a decision that nearly paid off but in the end left him as a sitting duck.

“I wasn’t quite sure which strategy was going to be the better one, but luckily my pace was good so I could make that twostop work,” Bottas said.

The champion didn’t give up without a fight, fending off one move from Bottas before the Finn caught him at the back straight on lap 52 of 56. Hamilton also held off a late surge from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who joined both Mercedes on the podium.

A fourth victory of the season for Bottas sealed his season runner-up. With two legs left on the 21-race calendar, Mercedes has 14 race wins.