Lewis Hamilton on the brink of fourth world title after storming to victory at US Grand Prix

Hamilton crossed the line 10.1 seconds ahead of Vettel and now needs to finish only fifth in Mexico to clinch his fourth crown

Lewis Hamilton on the podium after taking a step closer to the world title (Getty)

Lewis Hamilton rode imperiously to his ninth victory of the season, his fifth here in Texas, and a 66-point lead in the world championship, on a day when Sebastian Vettel deserved to finish third but ended up second thanks to team orders in the Ferrari camp.

After all the razzmatazz of the new-style F1 saw the drivers introduced to the huge crowd before the off via spectacular fireworks and ballyhoo, and Usain Bolt (who Hamilton had scared good and proper earlier in the morning with on-the-limit laps in a Mercedes AMG), it was Vettel who jumped into the lead from second place on the grid, and for a whole it looked like the German was on his way to the victory he needed to keep his dwindling title hopes alive.

But when Hamilton reported that his Mercedes felt “pretty good” in the red car’s wake, and stayed with it, it soon became clear that Ferrari were not going to walk away with this one.

When he delivered the coup de grace on the sixth lap, Hamilton did it with decisive elegance, slicing inside Vettel from a long way back, and then moving away.

Thereafter his sole concern came after the first round of pit stops. Vettel, 4.4s down by then, made his on the 16th lap. Hamilton kept going until the 19th, but when he came out and climbed up to Turn 1, Vettel was within striking distance.

Hamilton in action during Sunday's race (Getty)

“That was a little bit close, guys, how did you allow him to get so close?” Hamilton demanded to know.

But this day he need not have worried. Vettel lacked pace and soon the gap was opening up again. So much so that Vettel needed another stop, to switch from the soft compound tyres to the supersofts. He dropped to fourth, but started to fly.

But he was so far behind Hamilton, whom Mercedes kept on a single-stop strategy, that the overall result was never in doubt. But Ferrari had Kimi Raikkonen in play chasing down second-placed Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes, and if one Finn could pass another, and Vettel could do likewise, Ferrari could switch their cars and Vettel would come away with second place.

That’s how it worked out, as Raikkonen pounced on the troubled Bottas on the 42nd lap, and then Vettel did the same on the 51st. Ferrari then immediately switched the drivers, and the German came home 10.1s behind the man who now needs only nine points to secure his fourth tile.

Raikkonen, however, still had his hands full of Max Verstappen, as the Red Bull pilot had driven brilliantly all afternoon to climb from 16th on the grid after engine penalties, to hound the veteran Finn. On the very last lap he pounced, snatching a much-deserved podium finish that lasted just beyond the chequered flag and into the podium green room, before the unlucky Dutchman was told he had been given a five second penalty for gaining advantage by disrespecting track limits.

Hamilton with his fans after securing victory (Getty)

Thus a hugely deserved drive failed to get its reward, while Vettel got more than perhaps he merited.

As former president Bill Clinton handed out the trophies, Bolt was again pressed into service.

“At the start it was looking good and we got past Lewis quite easily, but fairly quickly I realised that we didn’t have his pace today,” Vettel said. “So congratulations to him. We were quite close after the first stop, and towards the end we made the decision to pit again, which made it more exciting over the last couple of laps. But this was not result we wanted.”

Was it a strategic thing, Bolt asked. “No,” Vettel smiled, “it wasn’t strategy. You should know, it’s down to who is fastest doing the winning."

Declaring the Circuit of the Americas his favourite circuit, Hamilton joshed happily with Bolt, teasing him about feeling queasy after their earlier ride.

Vettel's hopes of clinching the world title are all but over (Getty)

“I’m honoured you’re here and it’s a humbling experience,” he told him. “This is a dream job, driving an F1 car, and it’s the greatest experience in the world. I wouldn’t be here without my family, and my brother is down there and my mum up there – I send you guys love.”

The two fastest men in Texas then did The Bolt together.

“I’m trying to catch you, dude,” Hamilton said. “You lead the way. It’s been an incredible year so far and I’m really enjoying driving this car, but we didn’t expect to have pace on Sebastian today, but the balance was just great. Three races to go, three to win. Let’s go guys!”

Final Positions after Race (56 Laps):

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1hr 33mins 50.993secs

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:34:01.136

3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:34:06.772

4 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:34:07.761

5 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:34:25.960

6 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:35:21.973

7 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Renault 1:33:50.993

8 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India at 1 Lap

9 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams at 1 Lap

10 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso at 1 Lap

11 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams at 1 Lap

12 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren at 1 Lap

13 Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso at 1 Lap

14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 at 1 Lap

15 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari at 1 Lap

16 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 at 1 Lap

Not Classified:

17 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 24 Laps completed

18 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 14 Laps completed

19 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 5 Laps completed

20 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 3 Laps completed