MEXICO CITY: British driver Lewis Hamilton raced his way into motor racing history when he secured his fifth world Formula I title at the Mexican Grand Prix.

That equals the mark set in the 1950s by the legendary Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio and is two fewer than the all-time record seven of German Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton’s Mercedes finished fourth in a race won by Max Verstappen for Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton’s closest rival, finished second ahead of Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen.

The 33-year-old said: “This was won through a lot of hard work through a lot of races. I am so grateful for all the hard work, for everyone who has been a part of it. To complete this, when Fangio has done it with Mercedes, it is an incredible moment.

“It was a horrible race. I got a great start and was working my way up and I really don’t know what happened after that. I was just trying to hold on and bring the car home.”

Vettel said: “Well deserved. Congrats to him and his team. They did a superb job all year, we need to stand there and accept that, we would have loved to hang in there a bit longer but that wasn’t the case.”

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