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Hamilton wins in Texas

November 2, 2014

The Mercedes drivers are locked in a competitive battle to win this year's F1 title, but Lewis Hamilton has pulled away to increase his lead. There are two races remaining for rival Nico Rosberg to catch his teammate.

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Austin Großer Preis der USA Formel 1 02.11.2014
Image: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the summit of the Formula One drivers' championship to 24 points at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on Sunday. Mercedes rival Nico Rosberg finished in second and now trails his rival by 14 points with two races left and 75 points up for grabs.

After measured driving from both the two Mercedes teammates, the Englishman swooped in on the 24th lap to overtake his German opponent and gain control of the race.

Over the next 10 laps, Hamilton would extend his lead to about 2.7 seconds over Rosberg. He maintained that lead for the duration of the second half of the race, eventually finishing 2.3 seconds ahead.

"An epic, epic drive," exclaimed Hamilton's engineers over the team radio.

The 29-year-old bagged his 10th race win of the season and his fifth consecutive win. He now holds the record of having the most race wins of any British driver.

Early exits, smart moves

At the get-go, there were just nine teams on the starting grid after the withdrawal of Caterham and Marussia, as Formula One's bosses continue to be locked in talks over the distribution among teams.

There was the usual chaotic start in Austin, which actually created the race's first exit: a collision between Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen, which saw the Finnish driver flying into Adrian Sutil who left the race first.

After Perez's withdrawal, Force India were completely out of the race in the 18th lap when Nico Hulkenberg pulled off at the side of the track.

There are two races remaining - next in Brazil, then in Abu Dhabi - for Rosberg to close the gap with Hamilton, but the Englishman continues to pull away from the German with some outstanding form.

Daniel Riccardo of Red Bull finished third, Felipe Massa fourth and Sebastian Vettel came in seventh place.

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