Sebastian Vettel is set to face mathematical elimination from 2018 Formula 1 championship contention in the Mexican Grand Prix.
After staying mathematically eligible to win the 2018 Formula 1 championship with his fourth place finish in the United States Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is set to face mathematical elimination from championship contention in the next race, the Mexican Grand Prix.
The four-time Formula 1 champion is set to enter the 71-race around the 17-turn, 2.674-mile (4.304-kilometer) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico trailing Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton, who is also a four-time Formula 1 champion, by 70 points in the driver standings.
With three races remaining on the schedule, the Mexican Grand Prix, the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and a maximum of 25 points on the table for each driver in each race, Vettel can outscore Hamilton by a maximum of 75 points before the season ends.
More from Formula One
- Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
- Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
- Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
- Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
- Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points
With two races remaining on the schedule, Vettel’s point total will need to be within 49 points of Hamilton’s for him to have a chance to win the championship. The reason that this point total is 49 as opposed to 50 is because of the fact that Vettel cannot win a tiebreaker over Hamilton.
The tiebreaker would be based on each driver’s win total. Hamilton has earned nine victories so far this season while Vettel has earned five, so even if Vettel wins each of the season’s final three races, his win total would only shoot up to eight, which would not be enough to tie, much less pass, the win total of Hamilton.
To remain eligible to win the championship after the Mexican Grand Prix, the race in which Hamilton clinched the 2017 championship, Vettel must outscore Hamilton by at least 21 points in this race. With second place finishes being worth 18 points, Vettel must win it to allow this to remain a possibility.
If Hamilton finishes in seventh place in this race, he will score six points, meaning that if even if Vettel wins it, Hamilton will clinch the championship, thus eliminating Vettel.
However, if Hamilton finishes in eighth place (four points) or lower in this race and Vettel wins it, Vettel will remain mathematically eligible to win the title heading into the penultimate race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, as a result of the fact that he will have outscored Hamilton by at least 21 points in it.
The Mexican Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on ABC from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez beginning at 3:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 28, so be sure not to miss it to see whether or not Sebastian Vettel can remain mathematically eligible to win the 2018 Formula 1 championship.