Hamilton wins USA Grand Prix

LEWIS Hamilton took one step closer to his second world championship title by winning the USA Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Brit held off his teammate Nico Rosberg to take the chequered flag and extend his gap at the top of the driver’s championship to 24 points. However, the controversial double-points system that will come into play for the final race of the season could still result in Rosberg stealing the championship from Hamilton.

Spain’s Fernando Alonso struggled to keep pace with the top finishers and came home in sixth place, in what was probably one of his last races as a Ferrari driver. News emerged over the weekend that Santander will continue their sponsorship with the Ferrari team even if Alonso leaves.

The 33-year-old Spaniard has been linked to a move back to McLaren, his former team, and though the Spanish banking giants are closely aligned with Alonso, Marca newspaper said that Santander will retain their contract with Ferrari which runs until 2017.