Austin (United States) (AFP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was crowned Sunday F1 World Champion for the 6th time finishing 2nd in the US GP behind teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The Brit now stands at 34, a title before the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and a behind Michael Schumacher.
"I can not believe it, thank you very much," he exclaimed at his team's address as he crossed the finish line ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull).
"I'm upset, it was a very difficult race today," said Hamilton, who was only 5th on the grid when Bottas took pole position.
"I was hoping to win today, but I could not do with the tires," he added.
He resisted in the final laps after Max Verstappen's return from Bottas, who followed a different strategy for tire changes.
Hamilton was crowned world champion in 2008, with McLaren, then 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 with Mercedes.
Monaco's Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished fourth on Sunday as his team-mate Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire after a break.
© 2019 AFP