Hamilton overwhelmed to win Formula One world championship for sixth time

Austin, November 4: Lewis Hamilton was left feeling overwhelmed after winning the Formula One drivers' championship for the sixth time.

The 34-year-old finished second behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at Sunday's United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Hamilton, who needed only a top-eight finish to guarantee a third title in a row, qualified fifth on the grid but was leading the race on lap 52 of 56 until Bottas made the most of fresher tyres to overtake him.

Bottas claims Austin pole with Hamilton to start fifth

Although he admits he would have liked to take the chequered flag, Hamilton described it as an "honour" to win the title and move to within one of Michael Schumacher's record haul of seven.

"It's just overwhelming if I'm really honest. It was such a tough race today," he said to Sky Sports.

"Yesterday was a really difficult day for us. Valtteri did a fantastic job so huge congratulations to him. Today, I just really wanted to recover and deliver the one-two for the team.

"I didn't think the one-stop [strategy] was going to be possible, but I worked as hard as I could. I'm full of so much emotion. It's an honour to be up here with those greats.

"My dad told me when I was like six or seven years old never to give up – that's the family motto.

"I was pushing as hard as I could. I was hopeful I might be able to win today but we didn't have it in the tyres, unfortunately."

With five drivers' championships from the last six years, many are predicting Hamilton will go on and beat Schumacher's record, and the Brit certainly seems to feel physically capable of continuing his career.

When asked how many titles he could win, Hamilton replied: "I don't know about championships but, as an athlete, I feel as fresh as can be right now.

"I'm ready for the next race. These next races we won't let up – we'll keep pushing."