Lewis Hamilton has cut his Formula 1 championship points deficit to Nico Rosberg by cruising to a comfortable victory in the United States Grand Prix.

The Englishman's first win since the German Grand Prix in July puts him 26 points behind his Mercedes teammate with 75 available in the remaining three races.

Rosberg finished second after recovering a position lost to Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at the start, and remains heavily tipped to win the championship.

The German was able to make a "free stop" under a Virtual Safety Car deployed when Max Verstappen's Red Bull broke down and the Dutchman, on orders from his team, opted to park alongside a wall.

This allowed Rosberg to retain second place, forcing a frustrated Ricciardo to settle for third ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, claimed a career-best sixth despite being overtaken on the final lap by McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who faces a stewards' investigation for banging wheels with Felipe Massa.

United States GP result:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
6. Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
7. Felipe Massa (Williams)
8. Sergio Perez (Force India)
9. Jenson Button (McLaren)
10. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
11. Kevin Magnussen (Renault)
12. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
13. Jolyon Palmer (Renault)
14. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
15. Felipe Nasr, (Sauber)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
17. Pascal Wehrlein (Manor)
18. Esteban Ocon (Manor)