Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain waits to leave the garage during the qualifying session of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix night race in Singapore September 19, 2015. Reuters/Olivia Harris

Lewis Hamilton clinched his third Formula One (F1) World Drivers’ Championship title during Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. According to the British racing driver who was enjoying an utterly dominant season, he knew he could win this year’s championship at the Circuit of the Americas.

The Briton revealed via Mercedes’ official website that the United States Grand Prix was a crazy race in tricky conditions. He said that he was already thinking how he was going to into the position after starting second on the grid to clinch the championship.

“All the way through, I was thinking, ‘The Championship is there somewhere, how can I get it,’” Hamilton said. “It was so close I could smell it and there was never a moment I didn’t believe I could do it.”

Hamilton said it was incredible to have equaled Ayrton Senna’s career record. He added that that had been dreaming of winning three titles as the Brazilian racing icon has always served an inspiration for him. After making history with three world titles just like his idol, Hamilton said that his goal moving forward is to simply continue winning for as long as he can and not go after anyone else’s F1 record. Hamilton had also equaled British Jackie Stewart’s record of three world championships.

Following a thrilling race that went from rain-drenched to dry conditions, Hamilton thanked his supporters through a tweet. “Guys, 3x, wow, Thank you all so much, your support means the world #WonMoreTime #WeDidIt #TeamLH #WorldChampion.”

Since joining the German F1 outfit, Hamilton has had success beyond anyone’s expectations. According to Paul Weaver of The Guardian, Hamilton could rack up one or two more world titles under his belt, but there wouldn’t be any more to it after that. Mr Weaver believes that five world titles is the most considerable for the British F1 star.

“This is Hamilton’s era, but we had the eras of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel this century, and they ended when the drivers had been at their most dominant the year before (2004 and 2013),” Mr Weaver opined. “Hamilton leads a hectic, jet-setting lifestyle. Once a man gets into his 30s, and he will be 31 in January, it can begin to take a toll on body and mind. ”

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