Title rival Sebastian Vettel was among the first to congratulate Lewis Hamilton on winning a fifth world championship crown.

Hamilton’s fourth-place finish in the Mexican Grand Prix was enough to take him level with Juan Manuel Fangio and just two short of Michael Schumacher’s record seven titles.

Vettel broke off from a television interview to congratulate Hamilton on his fifth title and fourth in the last five years.

Former driver David Coulthard, who was conducting the interview with Vettel, took to social media to offer his congratulations, as did Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Bizarrely, actor Will Smith was heard congratulating Hamilton over the team radio shortly after the race had finished.

The race itself was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the team were quick to applaud the achievements of both drivers.

Many of Hamilton’s fans took to Twitter to suggest that the 33-year-old should receive a knighthood to mark his achievements.

However, it was the actions of Vettel post-race that had most F1 fans talking, with a lot of them delighted to see the two competitors embracing after such a hard-fought season.

Watch Vettel's moment of class below.

It could have been a lot closer, and that's something the Ferrari man will know deep down, but his mistakes in the second half of the season cost him dearly, allowing Hamilton to claim the title with two races to spare.

Having said that, Vettel still showed his absolute class following the race, and whilst having an interview with David Coulthard, he stopped the interview short in order to congratulate the Brit on his win.

The respect between the two of them is clearly there, and although they are at loggerheads for most of the year, it's clear to see that once the dust is settled, they have the ultimate respect for one another.

Great to see and long may it continue.