Compared to the nailbiting nature of his first two Formula 1 world championship victories, Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed a relative cruise to his third, but he had to really fight to seal this one in a United States Grand Prix that was breathless, fraught, full of unexpected twists and turns, and a real gloves off battle from start to finish.
It highlighted everything that can be so brilliant about F1 in the right circumstances: close racing all the way through the field, drivers displaying their skills and pushing each other to the limits, unpredictable conditions and strategies.
After a race this good, one wonders if F1 should just do away with Friday and Saturday and become a single-day event...