Hamilton chasing down fourth F-1 title
Every time he gets behind the wheel in Texas, Lewis Hamilton keeps smashing track records.
Hamilton set a third in two days at the Circuit of the Americas and grabbed pole position Saturday for the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, with title rival Sebastian Vettel getting a big push on his final lap to grab second.
That sets up a Sunday duel as Hamilton chases a possible fourth career Formula One season championship.
The Mercedes driver holds a 59-point lead over Vettel with four races to go and Vettel will be desperate to push for the win.
“I feel fantastic. I feel fresh and happy,” Hamilton said. “It’s such a fantastic circuit.”
Hamilton can feel at ease by the way he’s dominated the Circuit of the Americas not just this week but over the last six years. He’ll be chasing a fourth consecutive win in Austin and a fifth since 2012 when the track opened and the series returned to the U.S.
Hamilton has rarely even been challenged here. He has never started in Austin from lower than No. 2, he passed Vettel to win in 2012 and has crushed his competition the last three years.
If Hamilton can win another championship, he would become the only British driver with four and would join Vettel and Alain Prost as four-time champions.
Only Germany’s Michael Schumacher (7) and Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio (5) have won more.
Hamilton could finish Vettel’s title hopes if he wins and the Ferrari finishes lower than fifth. Hamilton dismissed that as “highly unlikely.”
“Sebastian is right there unless he makes a silly mistake,” Hamilton said. BELL GETS FIRST XFINITY WIN >> Christopher Bell raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, beating dominant Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones after they made contract with four laps left at Kansas Speedway.
Golf
LANGER CLOSES IN ON ANOTHER SCHWAB CUP >> Bernhard Langer matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to take a threestroke lead in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first event in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.
Seeking an unprecedented fifth Schwab Cup and fourth in a row, the 60-year-old Langer leads the season standings and has a tour-high five victories this season.
Fellow Hall of Famer Vijay Singh was second after a 63 of his own.
“I just have to continue to play great golf,” Langer said. “I know he’s (Singh’s) a great champion. He’s won lots of tournaments and majors, so he’s a tough competitor and he’s going to try and close the gap. I’m going to have to put the pedal down and keep making birdies.”
THOMAS, BROWN TIED >> Justin Thomas fired a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to share the lead with fellow American Scott Brown after the third round of the CJ Cup in Jeju, South Korea.
Thomas offset a lone double bogey and a bogey with five birdies to reach the clubhouse at 9-under 207. Brown had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but recovered with two birdies on the back nine for a 71.
Anirban Lahiri of India moved into a share of third place with Australian Marc Leishman (71) after a 69 that included four birdies and a bogey. JI STRECHES LPGA LEAD >> Eun-Hee Ji carded a 3-under 69 to open up a sixstroke lead after the third round of the Taiwan Championship.
Ji, who shared the overnight lead with Jenny Shin, recovered from a bogey on the par-4 5th with four birdies for a total of 10-under 206. The South Korean veteran is looking for her first win since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
Lydia Ko carded seven birdies against a bogey and a double bogey on the 17th for the day’s lowest round of 68 and is tied for second with Shin at 4-under 212.
Tennis
VENUS BACK IN WTA FINALS
>> Venus Williams returns to the year-end WTA Finals for the first time since 2009 and will face Karolina Pliskova on Sunday in Singapore. The 37-yearold Williams is the thirdoldest player to qualify for the finals. Billie Jean King was 39 in 1983 and Martina Navratilova was 38 in 1994.
The top eight players in the world will play in the round-robin event, which also features No. 1 Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Garcia.
Soccer
U.S. ELIMINATED IN U-17 SEMIFINALS >> A slow start by the U.S. let England take a quick two-goal lead and cruise to a 4-1 win and a berth in the semifinals of the Under-17 World Cup in India.
England plays Germany or Brazil on Wednesday. Mali defeated Ghana 2-1 on Saturday and meets Spain or Iran in the other semifinal.