Does Lewis Hamilton have a chance to clinch what would be his sixth Formula 1 world championship in the Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez?
A driver other than Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton has won only one Formula 1 world championship since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in the 2014. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg edged Hamilton to win the 2016 title.
Hamilton, now a five-time champion, has won two consecutive championships and four of the last five, and he is slated to win his third consecutive championship for the first time in his career this year to become just the second driver to win six championships.
The 34-year-old Briton is currently tied with five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio on the all-time titles list. He and Fangio trail only seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
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The 18th race on the 21-race 2019 schedule is the Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and it is the first race of the season in which Hamilton has a chance to mathematically secure his sixth championship.
How can Hamilton clinch the 2019 title in this 71-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.674-mile (4.303-kilometer) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City, Mexico?
Hamilton is set to enter this race with a 64-point lead over teammate Valtteri Bottas in second place in the driver standings, and a maximum of 26 points are available for each driver in each race (25 for winning and one for recording the fastest lap).
As a result, a maximum of 104 points are available for each driver throughout the rest of the season, making Bottas the only driver aside of Hamilton who is still mathematically eligible to win the championship. Sitting in third place in the driver standings is Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and he trails Hamilton by 115 points.
Once the Mexican Grand Prix has been completed, a maximum of 78 points will be on the table for each driver throughout the rest of the season, as only the United States Grand Prix, the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will remain on the schedule.
Bottas will need to be within 77 points of Hamilton to remain championship eligible following the conclusion of the Mexican Grand Prix, as Hamilton has clinched the tiebreaker. He has won nine races so far this season while Bottas has won only three, so Bottas cannot possibly pass him in this tiebreak category.
But if Hamilton has a 78-point lead or more, he will be the 2019 champion with three races remaining on the schedule.
This means that he must outscore Bottas by at least 14 points in the Mexican Grand Prix to be crowned champion for the sixth time. He clinched the 2017 and 2018 championships in this race as well, although only two races were remaining on the schedule after it in the 2017 and 2018 seasons; there will be three races remaining on the schedule after this year’s running of the race.
ABC is set to broadcast the Mexican Grand Prix live from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez beginning at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 27. Will Lewis Hamilton clinch the 2019 Formula 1 world championship in this race?