Lewis Hamilton won his third Formula One drivers' title in Austin on 25 October 2015. He took the crown by winning the United States Grand Prix. With three races still to run, he matched the title tally of his hero, Ayrton Senna.
A duel decided on cold tyres
Two days of heavy rain had soaked the Circuit of the Americas. The rain pushed qualifying onto race morning. The track was still damp when the lights went out.
Hamilton got the better start from second on the grid. He barged past pole-sitter and team-mate Nico Rosberg into Turn 1. Rosberg was forced wide.
Rosberg fought back. By half-distance he led by almost 12 seconds. Then two safety-car periods wiped out that lead, and with nine laps left the rivals lined up for a final restart.
Out of Turn 15, Rosberg's rear wheels spun on cold tyres. The German slid onto the run-off area. Hamilton swept past and won by 2.850 seconds, his tenth win of the season.
Three crowns, level with Senna
The win gave Hamilton an unbeatable total of 327 points. Sebastian Vettel came third for Ferrari. That result meant Vettel could no longer keep the fight alive, whatever Rosberg did.
Hamilton had already equalled Senna's mark of 41 race wins that year. Now he stood level with him on three titles too. "As a kid, I just wanted to be world champion and so it's kind of crazy to think that me and Ayrton, in terms of championships, stand on the same line which is just the greatest," he told reporters afterwards.
It was Hamilton's second title in a row. His first with Mercedes came in 2014, after 11 wins. The road from Texas would later take him past Fangio, Stewart and Schumacher. But Austin was the day he caught Senna.
