Lewis Hamilton wins fifth F1 title as Max Verstappen tops podium in Mexico

Lewis Hamilton joined an elite company after winning his fifth F1 World Championship even as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen registered his second consecutive Mexican Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

The Mercedes driver becomes only the third man in history to win five world titles. He equaled the Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio with only seven-time champion Michael Schumacher above him.

Hamilton, 33, only needed to finish seventh in Mexico to win the title, even if Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had won the Mexican GP – but the German finished second behind Max Verstappen – to leave it open for the Britton to claim his fifth title after finishing fourth.

“It is a very strange feeling right now. It’s something I dreamed of, but I never in a million years thought I’d be stood here as a five-time champion, I’m so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup,” Hamilton was quoted as saying by BBC.

“It wasn’t won here, just throughout the season and a lot of hard work. To complete this, when Fangio has done it with Mercedes, it is an incredible moment.

But Hamilton had started the race with hopes of clinching the title with a victory or at the least a podium finish, but Mercedes’ constant struggle with tyres meant not just he finished fourth, but in a rare instance, it was the first time this season that a Mercedes driver failed to stand on the podium.

“It was a horrible race. I got a great start and was working my way up and I really don’t know what happened after that. I was just trying to hold on and bring the car home,” said Hamilton.

The last time at the Hamilton finished outside the podium ever since his early retirement at Australia in early July.

Hamilton’s Mercedes’ partner Valtteri Bottas finished fifth, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came third.