Formula 1: Will Lewis Hamilton win his third consecutive Japanese Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton has won both of the last two Formula 1 races at Suzuka Circuit. Will he make it three in a row this weekend?

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton has won both of the last two Formula 1 races at Suzuka Circuit, meaning that he is set to go for his third consecutive victory at the track in this Sunday’s race, the Japanese Grand Prix.

The last race at the 18-turn, 3.609-mile (5.807-kilometer) Suzuka Circuit road course in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan that was won by a driver other than Hamilton was held in October of 2016. This race was won by Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. Hamilton, meanwhile, finished it in third place.

Hamilton also won the races at Suzuka Circuit in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, meaning that he has earned victories in four of the last five races at the track and is set to go for his fifth victory in the last six races there in this Sunday’s race.

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In the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton started from the pole position and went on to win it after leading 48 of its 53 laps.

Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who finished the race in third and fourth place, respectively, were the only other two drivers to lead the race at any point.

They they did so as a result of the fact that Hamilton came into the pits before they did. Ricciardo led three laps while Bottas led the other two.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, however, made what was a race dominated by Hamilton quite interesting by nearly catching him at the end, although he ended up coming up just short by finishing 1.211 seconds behind him in second place. The race featured three lead changes.

In the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton started from the pole position and never looked back, resulting in a race with zero lead changes. He led all 53 of the race’s laps en route to a dominant 12.919-second victory over Bottas in second place.

Will Hamilton earn his third consecutive victory at Suzuka Circuit in this Sunday’s race, or will a driver other than Hamilton win at the track for the first time since Rosberg did so in October of 2016?

Three of the four victories that Hamilton has earned at Suzuka Circuit over the course of the last five seasons, including the two victories that he has earned in the last two seasons, have come via dominant performances.

With this in mind and coupled with the fact that he is in position to win his sixth world championship this year, he is the clear favorite heading into this weekend. He also hasn’t finished a Japanese Grand Prix in lower than third place since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014 season.

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Will Lewis Hamilton earn his third consecutive Japanese Grand Prix victory by winning this weekend’s race at Suzuka Circuit? This race, which is the 17th race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 13, and it is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 1:05 a.m. ET.

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