Sebastian Vettel lived to fight another race with his second-place finish, but it will take a miracle for him to stop the raging Lewis Hamilton after the Brit starred once again in the US Grand Prix.
Few sports betting experts expected the F1 title to be handed to Hamilton in Austin. Even the Mercedes star himself said it’s “highly unlikely” for the battle to end there.
However, that didn’t stop Hamilton from delighting his online betting followers in what turned out to be another dominating live betting display.
Vettel did show some fight as he surpassed Hamilton on the first corner of the race to take the lead. Nonetheless, it didn’t take long for the 32-year-old driver to return in front, closely tracking the German ace over the next five laps before beating him on Turn 12 of Lap 6.
It was all Hamilton from then on, with the three-time World Champion making use of his speed advantage to dictate the race and finish ahead of Vettel by a little over 10 seconds.
Ferrari already gave up on beating Mercedes and Hamilton midway through the match and instead focused on ensuring Vettel finishes second.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen threatened Vettel in the latter stages, but the 30-year-old managed to pull away and keep his already slim title chances alive.
Although there isn’t much action in front, the battle for the last podium spot turned out to be a dramatic one. Verstappen—who started 16th on the grid—attacked Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap after the latter allowed Vettel to pass him for second.
The Red Bull driver managed to overtake Raikkonen on Turn 16 and appeared to have won a place in the top three. However, the stewards gave the Dutchman a five-second penalty for the gutsy move, eventually stripping him off his 11th podium.
Hamilton’s win puts him 66 points clear of Vettel, which means he is almost certain to win his fourth title in Mexico City. It also brings him closer to becoming the best British driver of all time.
Vettel still has a chance to extend his championship challenge, but he needs to win the next race and hope that Hamilton finishes sixth or lower – something that is far from happening.
As for the team standings, Mercedes already secured the Constructors’ title following the results of the Austin event.
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