Sebastian Vettel stretched his lead to 13 points ahead of the final Grand Prix of the 2012 Formula One season but it was Lewis Hamilton who took out the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.
The McLaren driver clinched his fourth triumph of the season to keep the title race alive heading into the final GP in Brazil, with Vettel 13 points ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Vettel finished second in Texas, ahead of Alonso in third, while Felipe Massa, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen made up the next spots.
“To be able to beat Red Bull and Sebastian is definitely a tough challenge but we managed to do it,” Hamilton said.
“What a great feeling to win the first grand prix back here in the States, so I am massively proud.”
Meanwhile there has been talk Vettel is worried about Red Bull’s reliability after team-mate Mark Webber was forced to retire with an alternator problem. It is the third time this season a Red Bull car has had the problem.
Team boss Christian Horner said: “It’s just a worry, full stop. Unfortunately it is the third alternator we’ve had and there have been others in other cars. The new version has raced on other engine cycles and hopefully that’s what we’ll have for Brazil.”