OMNISPORT

Lewis Hamilton said he is happy to wait for a sixth Formula One title as he savored an "incredible" Mexican Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Hamilton dropped from third to fifth when he made contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull at Turn 1 on the opening lap after Sebastian Vettel had squeezed the champion elect out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Brit was on the grass with Verstappen in a chaotic start but capitalized on a curious Ferrari strategy to claim Mercedes' 100th F1 win.

A one-stop strategy paid off for Hamilton, who put in a 48-lap stint on hard tires to win for a second time in Mexico City, with Vettel second and Bottas preventing his teammate from being crowned champion for a sixth time by filling the podium.

Asked about not being able to celebrate another title success, he said: "I don't mind. I love racing and I take it one race at a time. This is a race I've wanted to win for some time so I'm incredibly humbled by today's opportunity."

It proved to be another frustrating afternoon for Charles Leclerc, who was left to rue Ferrari calling him in for the first of two stops on lap 16 as he could only finish fourth.

Hamilton expressed his concerns over whether he could get away with just the one stop but was happy to be proved wrong.

"Today is an incredible result. I have to say a huge thanks to my team - the guys continue to work incredibly hard and stay focused." he added. "They came here on the back foot and we pulled through we had a quite a bit of damage and the race was a struggle. I kept my head down and it felt like a long second stint."