Raikkonen WINS the US Grand Prix as Hamilton fails to clinch title

Kimi Raikkonen wins the US Grand Prix in Austin – his first win in five years – as Lewis Hamilton fails to clinch the drivers title with a third place finish.

The odds were on Lewis Hamilton clinching his fifth world drivers title in Austin as he started the US Grand Prix on pole position. 

But Hamilton lost the lead to Raikkonen as soon as the race started, with the Ferrari taking the lead from the start, but seemed to be back on track for the title as Vettel spun whilst jousting with Ricciardo and dropped right down the pack.

But Mercedes decided to pit early under a virtual safety car on lap 11 – saving a chunk of time – which saw Hamilton back behind Raikkonen in just eight laps and back on track for the title.

That left him with a decent lead when Raikkonen did finally pit, but the early stop for Hamilton was too much for his tyres as they started to blister. But Mercedes left Hamilton out too long in traffic and, by the time he did pit, Raikkonen and Verstappen – who had started in 18th – were close enough to pass him.

That left Hamilton in third place as the race moved to its climax, by which time Vettel was up to fifth – behind Bottas – leaving the Brit with work to do.

But despite a last ditch effort in the closing laps to pass Verstappen, it was Vettel who made progress, passing Bottas on the penultimate lap to finish in fourth place, behind Raikkonen, Verstappen and Hamilton, to deny the Brit his title – for now.

Behind the top five it was the Renaults of Hulkenbereg and Sainz in sixth and seventh, but eighth and ninth place Ocon and Magnussen were disqualified for fuel irregularities, moving Perez, who finished 10th, up to eighth, and Hartley and Ericsson in to the last two points positions.

More misery for the British teams once again, with Alonso crashing out in the McLaren early on and the Williams car finishing last. Vandoorne did, however, manage an effective 11th place for McLaren after the disqualifications.