A Formula 1 championship was clinched, but the champion is still TBD
By Asher Fair
Mercedes have clinched the 2020 Formula 1 driver championship, but we still don’t know which driver will be crowned champion.
Entering today’s Turkish Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park, there are only two drivers remaining in contention to win the 2020 Formula 1 world championship.
Following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari two weeks ago, Mercedes solidified a record seventh consecutive world constructor championship, as Red Bull were eliminated after both Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon failed to score any points while Lewis Hamilton won and Valtteri Bottas finished in second place.
The Silver Arrows also solidified a record seventh consecutive world driver championship, as Verstappen saw himself fall outside of the necessary points threshold to have a chance to challenge for the title with four races remaining on the 17-race schedule.
However, while we know Mercedes have solidified that title as well, we still technically don’t know which driver will be crowned champion.
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Of course, it is overwhelmingly likely that the champion will be Hamilton, who has an 85-point lead over Bottas in the driver standings heading into today’s 58-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.317-mile (5.338-kilometer) Intercity road course in Tuzla, Turkey.
We could very well find out today as well, given the fact that Bottas must outscore by Hamilton in this race by eight points in order to remain eligible to win the championship with three races remaining. A total of 26 points are on the table for each driver in each race (25 for winning, one for running the race’s fastest lap), and Hamilton has already solidified the tiebreaker over his teammate (nine wins vs. two with four races remaining).
Bottas has only outscored Hamilton by at least eight points twice this season, with both occurrences coming in the two races he has won.
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The Turkish Grand Prix is currently being broadcast live on ESPN from Intercity Istanbul Park. Hamilton is set to start in sixth place while Bottas is set to start in ninth.