Lewis Hamilton was denied championship victory in the United States as Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen finished ahead of the Mercedes driver at the Circuit of the Americas.
Hamilton started from pole but it was Raikkonen, who started on the faster tyre, that was leading by the first corner. The championship leader slotted into second, but looked set to take the advantage when Daniel Ricciardo pulled to a stop at the side of the track, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.
Mercedes instructed Hamilton to do the opposite of the Ferrari ahead and the championship leader came into the pits as Raikkonen stayed out. He came out behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas but quickly passed the Finn when the track turned green and was soon pressuring Raikkonen for the race lead.
Raikkonen was struggling with his tyres but he managed to keep Hamilton behind him before diving into the pits for his single stop.
Hamilton suffered blistering on his rear tyres and was forced to pot again in the closing stages of the race. He once again emerged behind his team-mate but was let through and set about catching Verstappen, who had climbed up to second after starting from 18th on the grid.
The top three drivers were all within a handful of seconds in the final laps, with Hamilton gaining DRS advantage over Verstappen with only a few laps remaining. He pulled alongside the Red Bull. Verstappen was just able to hold him off but it was the Mercedes who had the better exit. It looked as if Hamilton would gain the position when he ran wide, dropping back off the tail of the Red Bull.
The scrap gave Raikkonen a little breathing room and he took the chequered flag to claim his first victory in 113 races.
With Hamilton finishing third, title rival Sebastian Vettel would have to finish sixth or higher to keep his championship hopes alive.
Despite a three place grid penalty for speeding under the red flags, Vettel made a strong start and was challenging Ricciardo on the opening lap. The pair made wheel to wheel contact and Vettel was sent into a spin, dropping back to P15.
He quickly worked his way back up through the field and was running fifth after a relatively slow pit stop. As the top three closed together, Vettel was pressuring Bottas for fourth. Bottas put up a good fight and the pair came close to touching as Vettel made his move, but the Mercedes ran wide and Vettel was able to take the position on the final lap.
Fourth place in the US means Vettel heads to Mexico 70 points behind Hamilton with just three races remaining.
Nico Hulkenberg picked up best of the rest ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, who was awarded a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage early in the race.
Esteban Ocon took seventh, just ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez.
Charles Leclerc once again found himself in a collision with a Haas, but this time it was Romain Grosjean causing problems for the Sauber. On the opening lap, Grosjean locked up and made contact with Leclerc. Both continued, though Grosjean retired in the pits at the end of the lap. Leclerc also came into the pits to retire on lap 33.
Elsewhere on the opening lap, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso collided, severly damaging Alonso’s McLaren. The McLaren retired in the pits but Stroll was able to continue and was handed a five second penalty for causing the collision.
Brendon Hartley finished just outside the points in P11, ahead of Marcus Ericsson, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly. Sergey Sirotkin and Stroll were the last of the finishers.
