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Formula 1: The 7 ways Valtteri Bottas can still win the 2019 championship

By Asher Fair

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Third placed Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 27, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Third placed Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 27, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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Lewis Hamilton has the 2019 Formula 1 world championship all but locked up. But there are still seven ways that Valtteri Bottas can steal it from him.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton had a chance to become Formula 1‘s second ever six-time world champion in this past Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Hamilton won the 71-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.674-mile (4.303-kilometer) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City, Mexico, but because Bottas finished in third place, he was unable to lock up the title.

Heading into the 19th of 21 races on the 2019 schedule, the United States Grand Prix, at Circuit of the Americas this Sunday, November 3, Hamilton boasts a 74-point lead over Bottas, the only driver still mathematically in championship contention, in the driver standings.

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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, meaning that there are a maximum of 78 points on the table for each driver throughout the remainder of the season.

Hamilton has won 10 races so far this season while Bottas has won three, meaning that the 34-year-old Briton has already clinched the potential tiebreaker with the 30-year-old Finn. As a result, Bottas needs to outscore him by at least 75 points over the course of the season’s final three races to win his first world championship.

The odds of him doing so are slim, but they’re better than nothing. How can he pull it off?

Here are the seven ways he can outscore Hamilton by 75 points. Outscoring him by more than 75 points simply requires Hamilton to do less in each listed scenario.

NOTE: Bottas must win all three races to even have a chance, as he can score no more than 71 points (25+25+18+1+1+1) without doing so; this list assumes that scenario for all seven different ways.

1. Hamilton fails to finish in the top 10

  • This would net Bottas 75 points while it would net Hamilton none.

2. Bottas records one fastest lap, Hamilton finishes one race in 10th

  • This would net Bottas 76 points while it would net Hamilton one.

3. Bottas records two fastest laps, Hamilton finishes one race in 9th

  • This would net Bottas 77 points while it would net Hamilton two.

4. Bottas records two fastest laps, Hamilton finishes one race in 10th with fastest lap

  • This would net Bottas 77 points while it would net Hamilton two.

5. Bottas records two fastest laps, Hamilton finishes two races in 10th

  • This would net Bottas 77 points while it would net Hamilton two.

6. Bottas records all three fastest laps, Hamilton finishes in 9th and 10th

  • This would net Bottas 78 points while it would net Hamilton three.

7. Bottas records all three fastest laps, Hamilton finishes all three races in 10th

  • This would net Bottas 78 points while it would net Hamilton three.

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Following the United States Grand Prix, will Valtteri Bottas still have a way to win the 2019 Formula 1 world championship? This race is set to be broadcast live on ABC from Circuit of the Americas beginning at 2:05 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 3.

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