Lewis Hamilton overwhelmed after sixth F1 title win

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton overwhelmed after sixth F1 title win

He has overtaken Juan Manuel Fangio's tally of five championships.

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 3 November 2019 22:10

Lewis Hamilton admits he is “overwhelmed” with emotion after finishing second in the United States Grand Prix, earning himself enough points to be crowned the 2019 drivers’ world champion.

The Brit led for the majority of the second half of the race, but was eventually pipped to the victory by team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

However, the second-place finish was enough to confirm the title, which initially left him lost for words.

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“It's overwhelming if I'm really honest,” he said after the race at the Circuit of the Americas.

“It was such a tough race today. Yesterday was a difficult day for us. Valtteri did a fantastic job so huge congratulations to him.

“Today, I wanted to recover and deliver the 1-2 for the team. I didn't think the one-stop was going to be possible, but I worked as hard as I could.

“I'm filled with so much emotion, but I have my whole team here, everyone back at the factory, my mum and my dad, my step mum, my step dad, my uncle George and my aunt from Trinidad, and all the family back home, so its an honour to be up here with those greats.

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“My dad told me when I was six or seven never to give up. That's kind of the family motto. I pushed as hard as I could today and was hopeful I could win, but I didn't have it in the tyres, unfortunately.”

Hamilton is now the second-most successful driver in F1 history, with just Michael Schumacher having won more championships. When asked how many he can go on and win, he simply says he is in primed to continue racing.

“I don't know about championships, but as an athlete I feel fresh as can be right now. I'm ready for the next race. These next races we won't let up, we'll keep pushing.”

The sixth title for Hamilton added to further glory for Mercedes, who secured their own sixth consecutive double championship along with their constructors’ win.