Lewis Hamilton's title chances boosted by Sebastian Vettel's grid penalty

Hamilton leads the drivers' championship standing by 66 points.

London: Lewis Hamilton received a major boost in pursuit of his third Formula One world championship title after his nearest rival Sebastian Vettelwas handed a 10-race grid penalty for Sunday's US Grand Prix.

Hamilton, the reigning world champion, currently leads the drivers' championship standing by 66 points and has to beat Ferrari's Vettel by only nine points to defend the title.

However, Ferrari was penalised for introducing a fifth engine in a bid to challenge Mercedes' supremacy in the next season.

Reflecting on the development, Vettel conceded that he was aware of being receiving a 10-place penalty for a new engine, adding that their engine guys had done a massive job, which should be seen as a positive development, the Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, Hamilton admitted that he didn't feel any added pressure this time considering the fact that his previous two championship titles didn't come until the last race of the year.