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Austin - Sebastian Vettel said on Monday that he told Lewis Hamilton 'he deserved it all' after the British Mercedes driver clinched his sixth world title at the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Austin on Sunday and was cooling down after the race when, unexpectedly, Ferrari's four-time champion Vettel dropped in to whisper in his ear.
Vettel, for several years Hamilton's fiercest on-track rival, had retired early in the race after his car's suspension had failed on the bumpy Circuit of the Americas.
"I think now is the time for you to write as many good things as you can," Vettel informed reporters, referring to what he said to Hamilton.
"If somebody wins the title six times, he deserves all of it. That's what I told him as well."
"Obviously I'm happy for him," he added. "I'm not happy that we are not in contention this year and we were so far back, but you need to respect what he achieved these last years and, also, this year, together with his team how strong they have been. I'm happy for him but less happy for us."
Vettel's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc said: "On my side, I didn't even win won one world title... To win six is just incredible.
"I think he deserves it. He has done an incredible season. I grew up watching him on the TV and, yeah, just a huge congratulations."
