Formula 1: Valtteri Bottas facing elimination in Istanbul
By Asher Fair
Valtteri Bottas could be mathematically eliminated from Formula 1 world championship contention in this Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park.
Following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the 13th of 17 races on the 2020 Formula 1 schedule, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was mathematically eliminated from world championship contention.
This leaves only two drivers in the title fight: Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Regardless, Mercedes, which secured their seventh consecutive constructor championship by eliminating Red Bull in this 63-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.05-mile (4.908-kilometer) road course in Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, are set to win their seventh consecutive driver championship as well.
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And Hamilton has a chance to clinch it for the team in this Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park.
Entering this 58-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.317-mile (5.338-kilometer) road course in Tuzla, Turkey, he leads Bottas by a whopping 85 points in the driver standings (282 to 197).
A maximum of 26 points are on the table for each driver in each race, with 25 for winning and an additional one for running the race’s fastest lap, meaning that a maximum of 104 points are on the table for each driver throughout the remainder of the season and that a maximum of 78 points will remain on the table for each driver throughout the remainder of the season following the Turkish Grand Prix.
Hamilton has already clinched the tiebreaker over Bottas.
With four races remaining on the 2020 Formula 1 schedule, Valtteri Bottas can finish the season with no more than six wins. Lewis Hamilton already has nine victories to his name this year.
As a result, if he is 78 points ahead of Bottas following this race, he will be the world champion for a record-tying seventh season and a fourth consecutive season, eliminating his teammate from title contention.
This means that Bottas must outscore Hamilton by at least eight points in this race to stay alive and to take the battle to Bahrain International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the antepenultimate race of the season, on Sunday, November 29. He has done this just twice so far this season, with those occurrences taking place in the two races he has won.
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Will Hamilton eliminate Bottas to tie Michael Schumacher with his seventh career Formula 1 world championship? Tune in to ESPN at 5:10 a.m. ET this Sunday, November 15 for the live broadcast of the Turkish Grand Prix from Intercity Istanbul Park to find out.