US Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton WINS to keep title hopes alive – just

Lewis Hamilton wins the 2016 United States Grand Prix in Texas, keeping alive his hopes of securing another driver’s title. Rosberg was second.

It’s a tall order for Lewis Hamilton to close the gap between himself and title leader, and team mate, Nico Rosberg, with a 33 point gap going in to the US Grand Prix. But he did what he had to do and took a straightforward win in Texas.

The win for Hamilton – his first since July – cuts the gap to Rosberg, who came second, to 26 points, but there are just 75 points up for grabs in the final three races so still a mountain to climb.

It could have been better for Hamilton, because it did look during the race as though Ricciardo’s Red Bull would prove too much for Rosberg, taking second spot at the first turn after the start.

Ricciardo keep that second place right up to an early last pit stop, but the work was undone when teal mate Max Verstappen’s car blew its gearbox, the safety car came out and Mercedes grabbed a ‘free’ pit stop under the virtual safety car, slotting Rosberg back in to second place.

Behind the top three it was Vettel in fourth after Verstappen’s demise, although the second Ferrari of Raikkonen retired after a third pit stop resulted in a wrongly fitted wheel and he had to retire.

Remarkably, fifth place went to Fernando Alonso in the McLaren after a battle with Sainz and Massa saw the Spaniard whooping with jot as he gave the McLaren team its best finish, helped by Button’s ninth place finish from 19th on the grid.

Behind Alonso it was Sainz and Massa, with Perez in the Force India in eighth, Jenson Button in ninth and Romain Grosjean taking the final points place in tenth.