Lewis Hamilton has been crowned the 2015 World Champion, making him the first British driver to win back-to-back championships and ranking him alongside drivers like Aryton Senna and Niki Lauda with three titles.
After a washed out weekend, the fans in the grandstands were treated to a thrilling, action packed grand prix which had multiple leaders and an unpredictable outcome.
Hamilton jumped team-mate Nico Rosberg at the first corner, but came under pressure from the Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo, themselves swapping position at the start as Rosberg dropped back to fourth.
Kvyat got past Hamilton before running wide and letting the Briton back past before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed for debris following contact in the midfield.
A lot of position swapping took place at the restart, with Rosberg emerging third behind Kvyat, who then dropped back behind Ricciardo in fourth when his attempt to claim the lead didn’t go as planned.
Ricciardo would then get back past Rosberg after the German made a small mistake and immediately closed up on Hamilton as he got the most out of his intermediate tyres.
The Australian passed Hamilton for the lead, but all four would continue scrapping over the lead until a Safety Car was called for a stranded Sauber.
A second VSC came out when Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo tangled, ending the German’s race. He was just one of eight retirements.
Kvyat was one of those eight after losing it at the final corner and colliding with the barrier, bringing out the Safety Car, which helped out Hamilton who rejoined in second and went about hunting down Rosberg.
A big mistake by Rosberg handed Hamilton the lead, where he remained until the final lap to claim victory and the title as Rosberg finished second and Vettel third.
2015 United States Grand Prix Race Result:
# | Driver | Team | Gap | Points |
01. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 25 | |
02. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | +2.8 | 18 |
03. | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +3.3 | 15 |
04. | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +22.3 | 12 |
05. | Sergio Perez | Force India | +24.4 | 10 |
06. | Jenson Button | McLaren | +28.6 | 8 |
07. | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | +30.6 | 6 |
08. | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | +32.2 | 4 |
09. | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | +40.2 | 2 |
10. | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | +53.3 | 1 |
11. | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | +54.8 | |
12. | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | +75.2 | |
13. | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | DNF | |
14. | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | DNF | |
15. | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | DNF | |
16. | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | DNF | |
17. | Felipe Massa | Williams | DNF | |
18. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | DNF | |
19. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | DNF | |
20. | Will Stevens | Marussia | DNF |