FORMULA ONE: THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS
| 7 | Michael Schumacher | (GER) | 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| 5 | Juan Manuel Fangio | (ARG) | 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 |
| Lewis Hamilton | (GBR) | 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 | |
| 4 | Alain Prost | (FRA) | 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 |
| Sebastian Vettel | (GER) | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 | |
| 3 | Jack Brabham | (AUS) | 1959, 1960, 1966 |
| Jackie Stewart | (GBR) | 1969, 1971, 1973 | |
| Niki Lauda | (AUT) | 1975, 1977, 1984 | |
| Nelson Piquet | (BRA) | 1981, 1983, 1987 | |
| Ayrton Senna | (BRA) | 1988, 1990, 1991 |
LEWIS HAMILTON produced an almost faultless season to win a fifth World Drivers' Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton coasted to fourth place in Mexico City for yet another title, one which is enough to draw him level in second on the all-time list alongside Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.
Only Michael Schumacher, with seven titles, now stands ahead of Hamilton - but, already at this stage, it feels as if that record is destined to face a serious challenge in the next few years.
After all, Hamilton in 2018 has taken his own personal performance to another level, eventually beating Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in utterly convincing fashion.
In the first part of the season, though, that did not look as if it was going to be the case at all.
Vettel swooped to early wins in Australia and Bahrain, and still led the Championship by the narrowest of margins when the F1 big top rocked up at Silverstone in July.
Hamilton took pole in his home Grand Prix but then suffered an absolute nightmare on raceday.
First, the Stevenage-born racer was jumped off the start line by Vettel and his own team-mate Valtteri Bottas - and then he was sent spinning off the track at turn three by Vettel's team mate Kimi Räikkönen.
For a brief period, Hamilton was pootling about back in 18th - and, although he eventually scythed his way through the field to finish second, Bottas vitally had earlier lost the lead to Vettel.
The German duly took his fourth win of the campaign and an eight-point lead into the last two races before the four-week summer recess.
A fortnight later, it looked even better for Vettel in his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim when Hamilton's Mercedes broke down in qualifying and was left stranded in 14th on the grid. By contrast, Vettel was seemingly sitting pretty on pole.
However, in a complete reversal of fortunes on raceday, Hamilton battled his way through the field on soft and ultrasoft tyres in the rain, and watched on as - critically - Vettel crashed out from the lead.
Hamilton followed up victory at Hockenheim with another from pole at the Hungaroring to extend his advantage to 24 points heading into the summer break.
But, at the resumption, Vettel responded well in the Belgian Grand Prix to beat pole-sitter Hamilton off the start line in Spa-Francorchamps.
That should really have marked the start of a Vettel comeback as Ferrari arrived at their home circuit in Monza - but the reality could not have been more different to the expectations of the Tifosi.
First, Ferrari chose not to reverse the order of Vettel and Räikkönen in qualifying, despite the former being their only title contender.
The Finn - who had, by then, been told by Ferrari that he would not be retained for 2019 - took pole and, racing on his own merits, it was no surprise at all to see him defend his lead from Vettel.
At the second chicane, a watchful Hamilton took advantage and passed Vettel on the outside.
Crucially, in attempting to defend his position, the battling German crashed into Hamilton and spun to the back. Then, to make matters even worse for him, the Mercedes driver subsequently overtook Räikkönen to win.
By this point, an in-form Hamilton was buzzing - and next came one of the moments of the season as the 33-year-old produced one of the best flying laps of his whole career to secure a race-winning pole in the night race at Singapore.
Two weeks later at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, the British driver benefited from a rare imposition of team orders as Mercedes told Bottas to let him past at halfway stage.
Then, at Suzuka in Japan, Hamilton made it four wins in a row with a lights-to-flag victory which left Vettel trailing in his wake.
Rapidly through the autumn, Hamilton's lead had grown to 67 points - a gigantic advantage which meant the Mercedes man could mathematically seal the title at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Indeed, it looked, at one stage, as if he would take the title in Texas as he made a wheel-to-wheel challenge to Red Bull's Max Verstappen for a few corners while Vettel trailed again in fifth.
Ultimately, Hamilton was forced to pull out of his move on the young Dutchman - and, even if he had taken second place, he would have been denied the big prize by Vettel's successful late pass on an ailing Bottas.
Nevertheless, Hamilton's pragmatic approach to his attack on Verstappen contrasted sharply with Vettel's earlier haphazard attempt to pass Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull.
Once again, Vettel made contact and was sent spinning to the back of the field - and, although the German recovered to take fourth, the result in the United States merely delayed the inevitable.
Requiring any finish in the top seven in Mexico, regardless of Vettel's result, Hamilton qualified behind the dominant Red Bulls in third and never dropped below sixth even after his pit-stops. His triumph had become a mathematical certainty.
"I don't allow myself to be too emotional in public, but now I feel humbled by the whole experience [and] it's hard to realise it at the moment," said Hamilton in his post-race interview.
"It's something I dreamed of, but I never in a million years thought I'd be stood here as a five-time champion and I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup.
"It was a goal, when I won the championship last year - I kept thinking how can I be fitter, faster, better - a better all-rounder, a better friend, better son, and I think I've been able to lift them all up this year.
"Maybe it comes with age or experience but I'm very happy with how it's gone."
Undoubtedly, at 33, Hamilton will need to use all his experience to stay at the top of his game in the coming years.
For, certainly, it would be a big surprise if four-time champion Vettel and Ferrari made as many poor mistakes again in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Prancing Horse from Maranello will also inject younger blood in their line-up following the signing of 21-year-old Charles Leclerc from Sauber.
And then there is Verstappen - also just 21 - who further added to his burgeoning reputation at the weekend with a fifth race win and 20th podium of his relatively short F1 career so far.
But, of course, this Mexican Grand Prix was all about the legendary Hamilton, and his hard work and sacrifices which have allowed him to retain the Drivers' Championship.
A class apart from his contemporaries, it feels only a matter of when - and not if - he will triumph again.
Undoubtedly, at 33, Hamilton will need to use all his experience to stay at the top of his game in the coming years.
For, certainly, it would be a big surprise if four-time champion Vettel and Ferrari made as many poor mistakes again in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Prancing Horse from Maranello will also inject younger blood in their line-up following the signing of 21-year-old Charles Leclerc from Sauber.
And then there is Verstappen - also just 21 - who further added to his burgeoning reputation at the weekend with a fifth race win and 20th podium of his relatively short F1 career so far.
But, of course, this Mexican Grand Prix was all about the legendary Hamilton, and his hard work and sacrifices which have allowed him to retain the Drivers' Championship.
A class apart from his contemporaries, it feels only a matter of when - and not if - he will triumph again.
FORMULA ONE 2018
+/- refers to Hamilton lead or deficit in the Drivers' Championship
| Date | Pole | Fast lap | Winner | +/- | |
| 25 March | Australian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Ricciardo | Vettel | -7 |
| 8 April | Bahrain Grand Prix | Vettel | Bottas | Vettel | -17 |
| 15 April | Chinese Grand Prix | Vettel | Ricciardo | Ricciardo | -9 |
| 29 April | Azerbaijan Grand Prix | Vettel | Bottas | Hamilton | +4 |
| 13 May | Spanish Grand Prix | Hamilton | Ricciardo | Hamilton | +17 |
| 27 May | Monaco Grand Prix | Ricciardo | Verstappen | Ricciardo | +14 |
| 10 June | Canadian Grand Prix | Vettel | Verstappen | Vettel | -1 |
| 24 June | French Grand Prix | Hamilton | Bottas | Hamilton | +14 |
| 1 July | Austrian Grand Prix | Bottas | Räikkönen | Verstappen | -1 |
| 8 July | British Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Vettel | -8 |
| 22 July | German Grand Prix | Vettel | Hamilton | Hamilton | +17 |
| 29 July | Hungarian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Ricciardo | Hamilton | +24 |
| 26 August | Belgian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Bottas | Vettel | +17 |
| 2 September | Italian Grand Prix | Räikkönen | Hamilton | Hamilton | +30 |
| 16 September | Singapore Grand Prix | Hamilton | Magnussen | Hamilton | +40 |
| 30 September | Russian Grand Prix | Bottas | Bottas | Hamilton | +50 |
| 7 October | Japanese Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Hamilton | +67 |
| 21 October | United States Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Räikkönen | +70 |
| 28 October | Mexican Grand Prix | Ricciardo | Bottas | Verstappen | +64 |
| 11 November | Brazilian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Bottas | Hamilton | +81 |
| 25 November | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Hamilton | +88 |
FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
| Points | ||||
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton (GBR) | Mercedes | 408 | (11 wins) |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel (GER) | Ferrari | 320 | (5 wins) |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) | Ferrari | 251 | (1 win) |
| 4 | Max Verstappen (NED) | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 249 | (2 wins) |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas (FIN) | Mercedes | 247 | |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 170 | (2 wins) |
| 7 | Niko Hülkenberg (GER) | Renault | 69 | |
| 8 | Sergio Pérez (MEX) | Force India-Mercedes | 62 | |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen (DEN) | Haas-Ferrari | 56 | |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP) | Renault | 53 | |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso (ESP) | McLaren-Renault | 50 | |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon (FRA) | Force India-Mercedes | 49 | |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc (MON) | Sauber-Ferrari | 39 | |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean (FRA) | Haas-Ferrari | 37 | |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly (FRA) | Toro Rosso-Honda | 29 | |
| 16 | Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL) | McLaren-Renault | 12 | |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson (SWE) | Sauber-Ferrari | 9 | |
| 18 | Lance Stroll (CAN) | Williams-Mercedes | 6 | |
| 19 | Brendon Hartley (NZL) | Toro Rosso-Honda | 4 | |
| 20 | Sergey Sirotkin (RUS) | Williams-Mercedes | 1 |
FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
| Points | ||||
| 1 | Mercedes (GER) | Lewis Hamilton - Valtteri Bottas | 655 | (11 wins) |
| 2 | Ferrari (ITA) | Sebastian Vettel - Kimi Räikkönen | 571 | (6 wins) |
| 3 | Red Bull-TAG Heuer (AUT) | Max Verstappen - Daniel Ricciardo | 419 | (4 wins) |
| 4 | Renault (FRA) | Niko Hülkenberg - Carlos Sainz Jr. | 122 | |
| 5 | Haas-Ferrari (USA) | Kevin Magnussen - Romain Grosjean | 93 | |
| 6 | McLaren-Renault (GBR) | Fernando Alonso - Stoffel Vandoorne | 62 | |
| 7 | Force India-Mercedes (GBR) | Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon | 52 | |
| 8 | Sauber-Ferrari (SUI) | Charles Leclerc - Marcus Ericsson | 48 | |
| 9 | Toro Rosso-Honda (ITA) | Pierre Gasly - Brendon Hartley | 33 | |
| 10 | Williams-Mercedes (GBR) | Lance Stroll - Sergey Sirotkin | 7 | |
| NC | Force India-Mercedes (IND) | Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon | (59) |
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