Hamilton cuts Rosberg''s lead in Texas

AUSTIN (Texas), October 24

Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 50th Formula One victory on Sunday with a pole-to-flag US Grand Prix drive that kept his title hopes alive and trimmed Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg's lead to 26 points with three races remaining.

Rosberg, who had been chasing his 10th triumph of the season, finished second on a sunny Texan afternoon. The straightforward victory was Hamilton's fourth in Texas in five seasons. Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third for Red Bull but his Dutch teammate Max Verstappen failed to finish due to a gearbox failure. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished fourth but a bungled stop put paid to teammate Kimi Raikkonen's race with the Finn leaving before the wheel had been fully detached. Ferrari were fined ^5,000 for the unsafe release. Fernando Alonso was fifth for McLaren. — Reuters