Wolff: Hamilton has shown his class

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes his driver Lewis Hamilton has proven that he is a "class act" as he gets ever closer to his fifth world title.

Hamilton can clinch the title as early as Sunday in Austin, with the Mercedes driver now 67 points clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

The world champion needs to outscore Vettel by eight points - if Vettel comes third or lower, then a win will secure back-to-back championship wins for Lewis.

Wolff has heaped the praise on his driver.

"While we didn't have the fastest car in the summer, we've seen the performance swing in our favour recently; however, it is closer than it looked in recent races," Wolff explained.

"Ferrari have a strong car and they will keep on pushing until the very last corner in Abu Dhabi. They have been worthy opponents in the past 17 races and we have no reason to believe that this will change in the next four; just like us, they will fight fiercely for every point and position.

"Two 1-2s in a row also show how well both drivers are performing. With six race victories in the last seven races, Lewis has shown what a class act he is.

"Both on and off the track he is more complete than ever before, showing commanding performance in the car and challenging the entire team to perform to higher levels at the same time."