Lewis Hamilton Gets A Hat Trick – Wins Third Formula One Title

Stewards in Austin, Texas chose to forgo a third qualifying session, which meant that Nico Rosberg started in pole position ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

“I never for one second believed that I couldn’t do it. I pushed and I pushed”, said Hamilton, who has also equalled the tally of three titles won by his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna.

The 30-year-old Hamilton won his first world championship in 2008 driving for McLaren.

Hamilton secured the title after re-taking the lead of the race with eight laps to go courtesy of an error by his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg.

Ferrari’s four-times champion Sebastian Vettel finished third, after starting 13th and fighting back to chase Rosberg nose-to-tail over the final lap with the crowd on the edge of their seats on a cold and blustery afternoon after morning rain. He also becomes the first British driver to successfully defend his Formula One crown. Another win Sunday could clinch his second world title in two years and three overall. We had a problem at the beginning, at the end it was tight, but I’m just overwhelmed.

“It’s the greatest moment of my life”. “I owe it all to my dad and family who supported me all these years and sacrificed so much”.

“Qualifying was cut short so I guess we didn’t really get to battle it out”, said Hamilton, who was fastest in Saturday’s final practice and would have been on pole had qualifying been canceled altogether.

“So you definitely need to drive in these conditions with confidence, and I’d say a little bit of aggression. Now I want to carry on as far and long as I can”, Mercedes quoted Hamilton saying on their official twitter account.

The move literally gave Rosberg nowhere to go and the German soon found himself in fourth as Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo jumped into the gap on Hamilton’s rear.

Hamilton needs to score nine more points than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and two more than Rosberg to win the championship.

Rosberg described the incident as “just games”, but there was something clearly niggling at the German who had a face like thunder throughout the post-race press conference.

Hamilton pitted from third place on lap 18 for the softer Option tyres and came out of the pits in eighth place.

But he seized his chance to charge through when Rosberg briefly lost the rear of his auto at Turn 14 and Hamilton raced through and on to glory.

Nico Rosberg was less happy than he’d looked immediately after the race when he spoke with the media, and the start of the race was one reason.