Vettel leads tributes as Hamilton wins fifth title

Title rival Sebastian Vettel was among the first to congratulate Lewis Hamilton on winning a fifth world championship crown.

Hamilton’s fourth-place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix was enough to take him level with Juan Manuel Fangio and just two short of Michael Schumacher’s record seven titles.

Vettel broke off from a television interview to congratulate Hamilton on his fifth title and fourth in the last five years.

Former driver David Coulthard, who was conducting the interview with Vettel, took to social media to offer his congratulations, as did Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Bizarrely, actor Will Smith was heard congratulating Hamilton over the team radio shortly after the race had finished.

The race itself was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the team were quick to applaud the achievements of both drivers.

Many of Hamilton’s fans took to Twitter to suggest that the 33-year-old should receive a knighthood to mark his achievements.