30 year-old Hamilton won a pulsating United States Grand Prix on Sunday night, his 10th victory this year, to achieve the hat-trick World Championships title; with the three title wins he now equals Sir Jackie Stewart and his childhood hero, Ayrton Senna, the legendary Brazilian racing driver killed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The race at the Circuit of the Americas commenced in wet conditions caused by the tropical storm Patricia, and was full of drama from the start when Hamilton, who missed out on pole position in the qualifying session, pushed his team-mate Nico Rosberg off the track at turn one, to take the lead.

During the electrifying race, the top place had continuously changed backwards and forwards between the two Mercedes drivers; with 15 laps remaining, it looked as though Hamilton might have fallen just short.

But then, there was the crash caused by Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat - the safety car was out and the race had to be restarted; Hamilton put pressure on his team-mate - Rosberg slipped off the circuit on lap 49 and lost the lead. He tried to come back at his team-mate, but in the end the Englishman held him back comfortably to take the victory, with the German coming second.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel came third and is now 76 points behind the champion, with three races to go; he could have kept the title contest alive until Mexico next weekend, had he finished second.

The two McLaren drivers, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, came sixth and 11th, respectively; this was the best race in the season for them.

Both McLaren drivers congratulated the champion, as he celebrated his title win with the Mercedes team. Hamilton was tearful and visibly emotional - he also performed his trademark donut spins for the fans in the stadium, before touring back to the pits for the ceremonies.

Rosberg, however, could not hide his disappointment for losing out to his team-mate; the German congratulated the Briton, as they prepared for the podium interviews, but then appeared furious and frustrated at the post-race press conference – had he finished first in Austin, the remaining races in Mexico, Brazil and UAE would have been more exciting.