The Briton inherited the lead from pole-sitting teammate Nico Rosberg, who retired after just seven laps with a throttle problem, effectively ending his 2015 championship ambitions.
“I’m just disappointed with the day, I’ll think about the rest afterwards,” said the visibly distraught Rosberg after jumping out of the car. “[But] I never write anything off, and picking up is never a problem either.”
For the 2014 championship runner-up the mountain is almost insurmountable: he trails Hamilton by 73 points with just four rounds remaining and he has been leapfrogged in the standings by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who trails Hamilton by a similarly distant 66 points.
Hamilton need only outscore Rosberg by two points at the next race in Austin to eliminate his teammate from contention, while nine points will do likewise for Sebastian Vettel.
In other words, if the likely order of Hamilton-Rosberg-Vettel were to take the flag at the United States Grand Prix on 25 October, Hamilton’s title would be assured.
“I've never felt it's ever been done and dusted,” said Hamilton, the idea of his second successive championship being one race away yet to sink in. “There are still a lot of points available.
“I'm going to take my time and at the next race work as hard as ever. I love going to Austin and the track has been amazing for me since the first race.”
While the drivers busy themselves for what is almost certain to be the final championship fight, the Mercedes team will have the opportunity to let off some steam after securing a second dominant championship in Sochi.
The German marque had to wait for it, however – it was not until Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen was handed a 30-second post-race penalty for punting Williams’ Valtteri Bottas off the track that Mercedes was confirmed to have outscored the Italian squad by the three points it needed to put its domination beyond doubt.
It is confirmation that the team’s four years of toil that delivered last year’s title were not simply to capitalise on the change of regulations that came during the 2013–14 off-season, but that the restructuring made after Mercedes bought Brawn GP for the 2010 season were to deliver lasting, meaningful performance.
“I really didn't know we’d be as dominant this year either as we were last year,” admitted Hamilton. “I felt the guys would do a good job, I just didn’t know it was going to be as this good.
“They’ve done an even better job this year than they did last year, which is just – and I continue to say this – phenomenal.”
The world champion-to-be also made special mention of Ross Brawn, the man who designed Brawn GP’s surprise title-winning 2009 season before setting in motion the plan that would build the team, under the Mercedes guise, into a Formula One powerhouse.
“When I spoke with Ross a few years ago I never envisaged we would win back to back titles,” said Hamilton. “I need to make sure I message him because still today, while we are succeeding, Ross is still a part of it.”
With the 2015 season now in its twilight, heads will begin turning towards the sporting challenge of 2016. Will any team be able to break Mercedes stranglehold over Formula One when the slates are wiped clean next March?