Lewis Hamilton revelled in his "incredible" achievement after drawing level with the great Juan Manuel Fangio on five Formula One drivers' championships.

The Mercedes star needed just a seventh-place finish or better to seal the title at the Mexican Grand Prix and, despite an underwhelming performance, he came in fourth to set the celebrations in motion.

Hamilton was asked how it felt to match former Mercedes driver Fangio's achievements and claimed it was special to do so with the same team.

"It's a very strange feeling right now," Hamilton said.

"I firstly want to say a big thank you to all the fans here for making Mexico Grand Prix as special as it is.

"Secondly, I want to say a big thank you to my team. I said on the radio: 'It wasn't won here, it was won through a lot of hard work in a lot of races.' I'm so grateful for all the hard work back home.

"And obviously Mercedes. I've been with Mercedes since I was 13. To complete this, when Fangio did it [won two titles] with Mercedes, is incredible, very, very surreal."

The Briton acknowledged it was not a particularly enjoyable race as any hopes of a win in Mexico City faded, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas also struggling to keep pace.

"It was a horrible race," Hamilton said. "I got a great start and really was working my way up, then I really don't know what happened after that.

"We were struggling - both Valtteri and I. I was just trying to hold on, trying to bring the car home."

Max Verstappen claimed the victory, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen filling the podium.