Brit ace seals his high five

dreamed of but never in a million years did I believe I would be standing here with it having happened.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my dad Anthony and all the work he did.”

Hamilton, who only needed to finish seventh to beat Vettel to the title with two rounds to spare, spent much of the race at odds with his Mercedes team as he struggled for pace.

He added: “It was a horrible race and I was working my way up but I don’t know what happened after that.

“I was just trying to bring the car home.

“I came to the last lap and I was like, ‘please hold it together and not make any mistakes’.

“I have to enjoy this one, you never know what is down the corner.

“Naturally I’m going to keep racing, I love doing what I do and the fans really help.

“I want to say a big thank-you to my team. As I told them on the radio, it wasn’t won here, it was won through a lot of hard work during all the races.

Faster

“Thanks to everyone who has been a part of it.”

“When I won the title last year I kept thinking how can I be fitter, faster better.

“It’s hard to register that I’ve won. I remember when I won in F3, it didn’t register. I hope this kicks in soon, I feel more excited the more I think about it.

“There are so many great people who save up and travel to races and those who can’t afford to come and sit at home – I hope they know they are just as much a part of this as the rest of my team.”

Hamilton hugged Vettel after the race as the German finished behind race winner Max Verstappen.

Vettel said: “It was not an easy day, but well deserved and congrats to him and his team.

“They did a superb job all year. I would have loved to hang in there, but it wasn’t the case.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “This is a fantastic title and I am so happy for Lewis. But it’s a bittersweet feeling as it was a difficult race.

“We will have to see what happened. I didn’t say anything to Lewis over the radio as

I was so upset with our race performance.”