Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has claimed his fifth world championship title after securing enough points at the Mexican Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won today’s race in Mexico City.

The Brit is now the second most successful driver of all time, behind only Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton needed to finish seventh to secure his title today, getting out of Sebastian Vettel’s reach. He surpassed this finishing in fourth place.

With his fifth title, Hamilton joins Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio , a legend of 1950s Formula One.

‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ star Will Smith congratulated the champion over Mercedes team radio: “That’s how I taught you, that’s how you do it, that’s how you drive.”

Hamilton’s first ever championship win came in 2008 while driving for McLaren. His subsequent wins have all been while driving for Mercedes in 2014, 2015, 2017 and now 2018.

Verstappen takes Mexico

Overshadowed by Hamilton’s championship win, Max Verstappen takes home the trophy for Mexico 2018.

The Red Bull driver dominated the weekend, but was pipped to pole position by teammate Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying on Saturday.

Ricciardo was again struck by the terrible luck he’s suffered since his win in Monaco.  While racing in second place, the Australian was forced to make his eighth retirement of the season after an apparent engine failure on lap 62.

Following Ricciardo’s retirement Sebastian Vettel inherited his P2 position and finished the race behind Verstappen. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen joined him on the podium after finishing in third place.

The Mercedes’ finished in P4 and P5, Hamilton easing his speed as he approached the finish line, followed by Valtteri Bottas.

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg took sixth place and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc finished seventh. Stoffel Vandoorne, who is moving to Formula-E after being dropped by McLaren for the 2019 season, crossed the line in P8 to equal his best finish of the season.

The next stop on the 2018 calendar is Brazil, before the closing race of the season in Abu Dhabi.