AUSTIN, TEXAS — Lewis Hamilton was made to wait for his fifth Formula One world championship on Sunday after the Mercedes driver finished only third in a US Grand Prix won by Ferrari veteran Kimi Raikkonen.
The victory was the 21st of the 39-year-old Finn’s career and first since the Australian Grand Prix of March 2013, a gap of 113 races dating back to when he was racing for now-defunct Lotus.
Red Bull’s Dutch youngster Max Verstappen took a surprise second after starting 18th in a thrilling finale with the top three cars running nose-to-tail and separated by just 2.1 seconds at the checkered flag.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton’s only title rival, spun down to 15th on the opening lap but fought back to finish fourth — a result that means the championship remains mathematically open going into Mexico next weekend.
Hamilton, on 346 points, has a lead of 70 over his four-times champion rival with a total of 75 remaining to be won from the last three races.
That means even if Vettel wins in Mexico, the Briton need finish only seventh to be sure of the title but Sunday was still a missed opportunity for Mercedes, who got their tire strategy wrong.
Hamilton pitted early during a virtual safety car period but had to make two pits tops to his rivals’ one, losing time on fading tires before being called in.
A late charge over the final 19 laps from fourth was not enough.
Team mate Valtteri Bottas helped by letting him through for third, but the Finn then lost out to Vettel as his tires wore down and finished fifth.
Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen with two laps left but failed to make the move stick and ran wide at turn 18 after giving the Dutchman plenty of space.
The outcome had looked very different at the start, when Vettel, fifth on the grid, spun on the opening lap after making contact with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in the battle for fourth place. — Reuters
