AUSTIN, Texas - Lewis Hamilton got the victory he needed to keep his Formula One championship hopes alive. Now he needs more, and he needs Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg to make a mistake or have a bad race.
Hamilton won his fourth U.S. Grand Prix in five years Sunday, bolting from pole position and cruising to an easy victory that cut Rosberg's lead to 26 points with three races left.
"Yeehaw!" Hamilton roared over his car radio as he rounded the final turn for the checkered flag on his 50th career victory. "The battle will continue. I'll be going for it."
Victories won't be enough for the two-time defending champion to keep his title. Rosberg still holds a relatively comfortable lead heading to next week's race in Mexico City where he won last year. Two seconds and a third in the final three races will be enough for Rosberg to earn his first season title and match his father Keke Rosberg's 1982 championship.
Rosberg is keenly aware he controls his destiny.
Unlike last season, when tensions boiled over in the post-race cool down room and Rosberg tossed a podium cap at Hamilton's face, the German was all smiles Sunday as Hamilton celebrated his win.
Rosberg shrugged off any suggestion he has lost any momentum. The Mercedes duel now heads into a stretch of races Rosberg dominated last season when he reeled of victories in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. He's failed to finish only one race this season and has only four others that didn't end on the podium.
"It's a pity it didn't work out for a win," in the U.S., Rosberg said.
Rosberg insists he won't settle for the safety of second place and will push for wins during the final stretch. He made a late charge in the final 10 laps to shave nearly five seconds off Hamilton's lead, but never threatened to overtake him for the win.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished fourth. The Haas F1 team's Romain Grosjean finished 10th, earning the rookie American-led team a point in its debut appearance in its home race.
Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen had a wild race that ended with a gear box problem on lap 32. After an aggressive start on super-soft tires when he was pressing Rosberg early, Verstappen's garage warned the 19-year-old, "just make sure you can finish."
"I'm not here to finish fourth!" Verstappen snapped back.