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Formula 1: How Mercedes can clinch 2019 championship in Japan

By Asher Fair

SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and second placed Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP celebrate with their team after the F1 Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 29, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and second placed Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP celebrate with their team after the F1 Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 29, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
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Mercedes have a chance to clinch the 2019 Formula 1 constructor championship in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, the 17th of 21 races on the schedule.

The success that Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport have had through the first 16 races of the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season, which includes 11 victories and eight 1-2 finishes, has put them in position to lock up their sixth consecutive constructor championship in the very near future.

Scuderia Ferrari are the only team in Formula 1 history to ever win six consecutive constructor championships, as they won each of the six titles decided from the 1999 season through the 2004 season.

But there are scenarios in which Silver Arrows can mathematically secure the 2019 constructor championship in the next race on the schedule, the Japanese Grand Prix, at Suzuka Circuit.

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If they are able to do so, they will have done so with four races remaining in the 2019 season.

How can the Brackley-based secure their sixth consecutive constructor championship in this 53-lap race around the 18-turn, 3.609-mile (5.808-kilometer) Suzuka Circuit road course in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan?

Mercedes currently lead Ferrari by 162 points (571 to 409) in the constructor standings, and Ferrari are the only team aside of Mercedes that are still mathematically eligible to win the title.

A maximum of 44 points are on the table for each team in each race, as race victories are worth 25 points, second place finishes are worth 18 points and the fastest race lap is worth one point.

After the Japanese Grand Prix, just four races will remain on the schedule, meaning that there will be a maximum of 176 points on the table for each team.

This means that if Mercedes outscore Ferrari by at least 14 points at Suzuka Circuit, they will become just the second team in Formula 1 history to win six consecutive constructor championships, and they will be able to focus on going for a record seventh consecutive title next year.

Mercedes don’t need to be more than 176 points ahead of Ferrari after this race as a result of the fact that they have clinched the tiebreaker over the Prancing Horse. Mercedes have won 11 races so far this year while Ferrari have won only three, so even if Ferrari win out, they will only have eight victories compared to Mercedes’ 11.

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The Japanese Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 13, and it is set to be broadcast live from Suzuka Circuit on ESPN beginning at 1:05 a.m. ET. Will Mercedes become six-time Formula 1 constructor champions in this race?

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