Lewis Hamilton finished ninth in Mexico, but that was enough for him to win the F1 World Championship as his title rival Sebastian Vettel ended just fourth.
Of course, it wasn’t how Hamilton thought he’d win the big prize. After all, he did say he wanted to clinch it in style by dominating the Mexican Grand Prix.
However, online gambling fans and the 32-year-old’s live betting faithful will still celebrate the victory, especially after a dramatic encounter at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez that turned the betting odds upside down.
Vettel had his hopes up entering the race after taking the pole position, with Hamilton at third. Nonetheless, his chances quickly evaporated following an incident on the first lap that saw him collide with the British ace.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took the lead after overtaking Vettel at the first corner, a move which led to the Ferrari driver going wheel-to-wheel with the Mercedes star. The contact led to some damage on both cars that forced them to get back to the pit lane.
Hamilton suffered a puncture while Vettel had damage on his front wing. The two then had to fight back from the bottom of the pack after the first lap.
Verstappen’s lead after the incident was insurmountable, and he never looked back and finished 19 seconds ahead of the second-placer.
Vettel fought hard to get back into the game and moved up to eight by Lap 32. Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled for pace due to damage to his car’s diffuser, eventually leading him to enter the pit again.
The German ace needed at least second to send the title race to Brazil, but all he could muster was a fourth-place finish due to the huge gap between him and the leading pack.
Despite knowing Vettel could no longer take a podium place – much more the second, Hamilton still ensured he would win the title. He began to make ground in the closing stages and fought out a thrilling race with Fernando Alonso for ninth, the position which would guarantee him the championship.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas secured second while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took the last podium spot. Vettel ended over a minute behind Verstappen and 16 seconds back of his teammate.
With the win, Verstappen grabbed his second race of the season, having won the Malaysian Grand Prix last September.
Hamilton, on the other hand, captured his fourth world title with a 56-point lead and just two races to go. He joins Vettel and French great Alain Prost with four championships and becomes the most decorated British driver, moving one up of three-time winner Sir Jackie Stewart.
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