Scene I: After 56 laps at the Circuit of The Americas, this year's Formula 1 season was decided. Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in his Mercedes as the new world champion. He closed his eyes briefly in the cockpit, cocked his head, then got out of the car and hugged his team.
Race II scene: Another scene that was pithy for the race in Texas and so characteristic of the season was 48 laps earlier, when Sebastian Vettel had to park his Ferrari on the bumpy track after damage to the suspension. He drove off the train on the moped back seat of a line post. Hamilton in luck, Vettel grudgingly, Austin did not change that combination.
LAP 9/56
VET: "I think the suspension failed ... yep, it's gone" # USGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/NnpoichwRA
World title with announcement: So right before the start of racing no one had believed that Hamilton would take his sixth title yet. With a necessary victory of team-mate Valtteri Bottas he would have an eighth place (or a ninth plus the extra point for the fastest lap of the race) enough. The statistics also spoke for Hamilton: With a total of six wins the 34-year-old is a record champion in the US Grand Prix.
Result: And so it came, as it had to come: Although Bottas fulfilled his compulsory task and won in Austin, Hamilton's second place but was enough for the premature winning the World Cup. With 67 points ahead, he is no longer recoverable. Max Verstappen completed the podium in the Red Bull. The day did not go well for Charles Leclerc's second Ferrari as well: the Monegasse finished fourth, 52 seconds back. Click here for the race report.
What a day for @LewisHamilton in Texas
A six-time F1 world champion
Only one driver - the great Michael Schumacher - has more # USGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/WIOCHEVXhw
Thin Air: "Michael's records are the summit of a huge mountain, and I'm still in base camp," Lewis Hamilton said before the penultimate Grand Prix in Suzuka. This must be understood as demonstrative modesty. If Michael Schumacher's seven world titles mean the 8,848-meter-high summit of Mount Everest, Hamilton is at least in the third base camp (around 7280 meters). At such heights, the air is thin, but the way is not far: another title win separating Hamilton from Schumacher's 2004 record of seven titles.
Cloud Seven: His record for most pole positions (68), the Briton had broken in 2017, currently he has 87. Good chances to lead the list of those drivers with the most Grand Prix victories, should have Hamilton in the next season : He lacks eight wins on Schumacher - at 59 starts less. "Cloud Seven is not nearly the feeling I'm feeling right now, I'm way beyond that," Hamilton said after his win.
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Formula 1 World Champion: Hamilton follows SchumacherSpeaking of next season: Hamilton's contract with Mercedes expires at the end of next year, but there seems to be no talk of victory blues. Even before the US race, the 34-year-old said: "I would regret leaving early, maybe I'm wrong, but I want to drive as long as I can, I understand completely why Michael Schumacher drove so long is. " After his victory, he affirmed, "As an athlete, I feel as fresh as ever, and I'll give it my all at the next race." His team is similar: "As long as he has a good car, he is able to win more World Championships, that's our job," said the Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Parking problems: Who does not know? Find a reasonably legal parking space for your car after 8 pm in crowded downtown locations or suburban neighborhoods. If you want to save yourself this trouble in the future, you should consider a Formula 1 career. In any case, for Lewis Hamilton, a place was reserved south of the Texas capital, Austin:
There are parking spaces
And there is this parking space # USGP # F1 @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/2FtgUoIzyc
So it goes on: Two races are still in the calendar. On November 17th, it continues in Brazil. For Leclerc (currently third with 249 points), Verstappen (fourth / 235) and Vettel (fifth / 230) is still in third place.