Lewis Hamilton Clinches His Fifth F1 World Title in Mexico, Drawing Level With Fangio

Lewis Hamilton is a five-time Formula One world champion. The vegan Mercedes driver finished fourth at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, enough to seal the title with two rounds to spare. Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have won as many.

Max Verstappen won the race, with the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen next, but it didn't matter. Hamilton had arrived in Mexico City with a 70-point lead and needed only a top-seven finish. A run of four wins in five races after Belgium had put the championship out of Vettel's reach.

Matching Fangio, who won two of his titles with Mercedes, meant a lot to him. Hamilton said after the race:

It's a very strange feeling right now. I've been with Mercedes since I was 13, to complete this, when Fangio has done it with Mercedes, is an incredible feeling. It's a bit surreal at the moment...

This is Hamilton's first full season on a plant-based diet. He stopped eating red meat in 2015, largely cut out chicken last year, then dropped fish too. Last October, with his fourth title nearly secured, he credited the change for his form: "I feel the best I have ever felt, physically and mentally. All year I have felt strong mentally, but physically I have taken a big step and that is with the decision I have taken to change my diet." A year on, he has the fifth title to go with it.

2018 has been a big year for plant-powered sport. Alex Morgan took the Golden Boot as the USA won the CONCACAF Championship, Lawrence Okolie won the British cruiserweight title at Wembley, and Novak Djokovic completed the set of Masters titles. And The Game Changers, the film about plant-based athletes, is still to come.

Five titles, zero meat.