On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton finished second at the United States Grand Prix behind his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. The win allowed him to clinch his sixth Formula One Drivers' World Championship title. Hamilton became the second most successful driver in the history of Formula One with one title less than Michael Schumacher.

During the closing stages of the 56-lap race that took place at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Bottas overtook Hamilton and denied him the chance to celebrate his title on the top spot of the podium. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third.

Hamilton was leading the race on two occasions and was passed by Bottas with only three laps remaining. Verstappen was almost breathing on Hamilton's neck, but the Briton defended against him successfully. Significantly, this was Hamilton's 150th podium finish.

Previously, Hamilton completed his 10th victory in Mexico last weekend. After securing that win, Hamilton needed only four points to take an unbeatable lead. In the US GP, the British driver did enough to secure the title even though his lone challenger, Bottas, took the victory.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton won his sixth F1 World title Getty

The US GP had been eventful. Although Hamilton got what he was aiming for, he wouldn't be as happy to achieve the title by finishing second. He would have certainly wanted to win the race as well as the title. Thankfully, Bottas is his Mercedes teammate. Had he been a member of a different team, Hamilton may not have had favourable conditions to celebrate his triumph.

With a successful finish at the US GP in Texas, Hamilton moved past Argentina's legendary driver Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio had won five World F1 titles during his career. Now, the only person who has won more titles than Hamilton is Michael Schumacher with seven F1 World titles.

When asked about his feelings about surpassing Juan Manuel Fangio and becoming the second most successful F1 driver of all time, Hamilton told CNN, "It is overwhelming if I am honest. I feel so much emotion. I was pushing as hard as I could today and I was hopeful I could win but I didn't have enough left in the tires. Cloud nine doesn't even get close to where I am – I'm somewhere far above that. Right now it's hard to understand what I'm feeling, to be honest. Naturally just pure happiness."

The 2019 Formula 1 season will conclude after two more races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.