Hamilton proud of Mercedes after ‘incredible’ Mexico win

MEXICO CITY: Lewis Hamilton shrugged off any disappointment he felt at not clinching a sixth world title on Sunday by heaping praise on his Mercedes team a er claiming their 100th victory with a flawless strategic triumph in the Mexican Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Briton, who needed to outscore his Mercedes team-mate Val eri Bo as by 14 points to be champion again, turned a one-stop strategy into a convincing win ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Ve el and Bo as.

It was Hamilton’s second win in Mexico, his 10th this season and the 83rd of his career, moving him within eight of Michael Schumacher’s record of 91.

It was also one of his most unexpected.

“Firstly, we’re going to applaud this incredible crowd,” he said immediately a er the race.

“This is the best crowd we’ve ever seen.

“Today is an incredible result. I have to say a huge thanks to my team - the guys continue to work incredibly hard and stay focused.

“They came here on the back foot and we pulled through – we had a quite a bit of damage and the race was a struggle, but I kept my head down and it felt like a long second stint.”

He said his victory “was for Bono”, his regular race engineer Peter Bonnington who missed the race as he recovered at home in Britain a er a minor surgery.

Bonnington’s replacement Marcus Dudley and the team’s strategist James Vowles did more than “step up to the plate”, as Hamilton said, they delivered a perfect strategic platform for his victory.

“We wanted to do it for Bono because he is here with us in spirit and Marcus did a great job.

“For us all, it is quite emotional. Bono knows how we feel. A er all these years, he knows. I could not have done it without him or them, the team and I hope they are all as proud of me as I am of them.”

Hamilton said he did not mind not winning the title in Mexico as he had without a podium finish in 2017 and 2018. — AFP