Formula 1: How Lewis Hamilton can match Michael Schumacher in Turkey

Lewis Hamilton has a chance to secure his seventh career Formula 1 world championship in Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park, which would match Michael Schumacher’s record.

Lewis Hamilton recently topped Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula 1 wins record of 91, and now he has a chance to match Schumacher in another major category this weekend.

The man who replaced Schumacher at Mercedes after the 2012 season and replaced him atop the all-time wins list earlier this season has a chance to match him atop the all-time world championships list this weekend.

Hamilton has a chance to secure a record-tying seventh career world championship in this Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park.

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The 35-year-old Briton enters this race, the 14th of 17 races on the 2020 schedule, sitting 85 points ahead of his nearest rival in the driver standings, teammate Valtteri Bottas.

With a maximum of 26 points on the table for each driver in each race, including 25 for the race winner and one for the driver who runs the race’s fastest lap, there are a maximum of 104 points left on the table for each driver this season.

So after this 58-lap around the 14-turn, 3.317-mile (5.338-kilometer) road course in Tuzla, Turkey, there will be a maximum of 78 points remaining on the table for each driver.

Because Hamilton has already clinched the tiebreaker over Bottas, having won nine races while Bottas has only won two and could only potentially grow his win total to a maximum of six, this means that Hamilton will secure a seventh world title provided he leads the standings over Bottas by at least 78 points after the Turkish Grand Prix.

This means that Bottas must be within 77 points of Hamilton after this race to keep his title hopes alive, effectively requiring that he outscore his teammate by at least eight points, something he has only done twice this season, not surprisingly in the two races he has won.

So how can Lewis Hamilton avoid letting that happen to secure career Formula 1 world title number seven in the Turkish Grand Prix?

If Hamilton wins, it’s over; he wins the title. Beyond that, however, there is no guarantee.

If Bottas secures all 26 points, Hamilton has no path to securing the title in this race, and the battle would be guaranteed to go on to Bahrain International Circuit in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the antepenultimate race of the year. If Bottas wins without securing the bonus point, Hamilton must finish in second place (18 points) to clinch the title.

But despite the overwhelming likelihood of yet another Mercedes 1-2 finish, there are numerous other combinations to consider here as well. If Bottas finishes in second place, Hamilton clinches the title with a fourth place finish (12 points) whether Bottas secures the bonus point or not, or a fifth place finish (10 points), plus the bonus point.

If Bottas finishes in third place (15 points), Hamilton clinches the title with a sixth place finish (eight points), or a fifth place finish if Bottas secures the bonus point. If Bottas finishes in fourth, Hamilton clinches the title with a seventh place finish (six points) whether Bottas secures the bonus point or not, or an eighth place finish (four points), plus the bonus point.

If Bottas finishes in fifth place, Hamilton clinches the title with an eighth place finish, whether Bottas secures the bonus point or not, or a ninth place finish (two points), plus the bonus point. If Bottas finishes in sixth, Hamilton clinches the title with a ninth place finish, whether Bottas secures the bonus point or not, or a 10th place finish (one point) if he doesn’t.

But if Bottas finishes anywhere outside of the top six, Hamilton clinches the title no matter where he ends up.

Tune in to ESPN at 5:10 a.m. ET this Sunday, November 15 for the live broadcast of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix from Intercity Istanbul Park to see if Lewis Hamilton will be crowned Formula 1 world champion for a record-tying seventh time.