Formula 1: Mercedes make history with Japanese Grand Prix victory
By Asher Fair
With their victory in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Mercedes secured their sixth consecutive Formula 1 constructor championship. But they also accomplished something that had never previously been accomplished in the history of the sport.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport entered the Japanese Grand Prix, the 17th race on the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 schedule, at Suzuka Circuit with a chance to secure their sixth consecutive constructor championship.
The Silver Arrows did manage to secure this sixth consecutive constructor championship in this race, as Valtteri Bottas won ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton in third place, making Mercedes just the second team in Formula 1 history to win six straight constructor titles.
Ferrari pulled this off from the 1999 season through the 2004 season.
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But while Hamilton, who has an overwhelming lead of 64 points (338 to 274) over Bottas in the driver standings, did not have a way in which he could mathematically secure his sixth world championship in this 52-lap race, shortened from 53 laps as a result of a system glitch that led to the checkered flag being displayed one lap early, around the 18-turn, 3.609-mile (5.808-kilometer) Suzuka Circuit road course in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan, Mercedes had a way to clinch the driver championship in this race.
Because of where they finished, Hamilton and Bottas did what was required to secure Mercedes this year’s driver championship.
There are a maximum of 26 points on the table for each driver in each race, including 25 for winning and one for recording the fastest lap. With four races remaining on the 2019 schedule, there are a maximum of 104 points on the table for each driver.
Bottas is the only driver within 104 points of Hamilton in the driver standings, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sits in third place, 115 points behind Hamilton.
As a result, the 2019 season is the sixth consecutive season in which Mercedes have won the driver championship. This has never happened in Formula 1 history, not even when Ferrari won their six consecutive constructor championships.
When the Italian team won their six consecutive constructor championships, their drivers won five of the six driver championships. They won the driver championships in the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons after McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen won the 1999 driver championships in a season that resulted in Ferrari being crowned constructor champions for the ninth time in team history.
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After becoming the first team in Formula 1 history to win six consecutive driver championships in the season during which they also secured their sixth consecutive constructor championship, how many more titles will Mercedes win before a non-Mercedes team win a constructor championship and/or a non-Mercedes driver wins a driver championship?
Neither scenario has played out since the 2013 season when Sebastian Vettel won the driver championship driving for Red Bull Racing, which won the constructor championship. These championships were the fourth consecutive championships for both Vettel and Red Bull Racing.