Lewis Hamilton finished the race in P2 after starting from P5 on the grid, securing his sixth World Championship title and the team’s ninth 1-2 of the 2019 season. Valtteri Bottas’ fourth win of the season at the United States Grand Prix , Hamilton finishing the race in second, having fended off a late attack from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Leclerc closed in 4th struggled a lot in the first stint on the Medium tyres and was never able to run at a competitive pace.
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo saw the Australian finishing sixth, keeping the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Sainz at bay, while the sister Renault of Nico Hulkenberg was ninth.
Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat crossed the line in P10, but was almost immediately handed a five-second time penalty for a late collision with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, dropping him to 12th and lifting the Mexican into the final points slot.
Sebastian Vettel had an even worse time of it, having to retire on lap 8 when a suspension component failed on his SF90.
Lewis Hamilton
It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling right now, to be honest. Cloud nine doesn’t even get close, it’s somewhere far above that. It’s been the hardest year I can remember; it’s been so challenging, going through the ups and downs, so right now I’m just so full of emotion, it’s overwhelming. I feel truly humbled, and really, really grateful to everyone back at the factories, the entire Daimler family and everyone at PETRONAS – everyone who has worked so hard to enable us to do what we do and achieve this. It’s such a privilege and honour to work for this team, to be able to go out there and have the platform to put in performances like today. And Niki, I miss him so much. Today, he’d have taken his cap off. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without Niki, he’s here with us in spirit. I saw my parents right after the race and seeing my dad’s smile, it says it all. My family have supported me since day one, they worked so hard for me to be here today. I’m so glad they could all come out here, together. Yesterday was a difficult day and today I just wanted to recover and deliver a one-two for the team. Valtteri did a fantastic job, so huge congratulations to him.
Toto Wolff
I’m so proud of everyone – what an incredible achievement! There’s a massive amount of work behind the scenes to secure a result like this, where one driver claims the Championship and the other one wins the race. A massive thank you to everyone who contributed to this – here at the track, back at home in Brackley and Brixworth, at Daimler in Stuttgart and at PETRONAS in Kuala Lumpur. Taking his sixth drivers’ title is a truly remarkable and special achievement. You can see how motivated Lewis still is, he wants to win every race and get the best result possible. It’s not been an easy year, with tough competition and the loss of Niki. I’d like to think Niki’s looking down on us, tipping his cap after today’s result. Valtteri drove an absolutely faultless race today, he has been on incredible form all weekend and he thoroughly deserved the victory. Lewis fought back in style and put in a great drive to go from P5 to P2.
