Formula 1: Carlos Sainz Jr. eliminated in Singapore

Following the Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. is no longer mathematically in contention to win the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

Five drivers entered Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit still mathematically eligible to win the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

But following the 59-lap race at the 23-turn, 3.146-mile (5.063-kilometer) temporary street circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore, just three of them still have a shot.

One of the two drivers who no longer has a shot is Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr.

Sainz finished the race in third place and did make up nine points on points leader Max Verstappen, who had a weekend to forget and saw his five-race winning streak end with a seventh place finish.

But it wasn’t enough for Carlos Sainz Jr. to remain in title contention.

After trailing by 148 points entering the weekend, Sainz now trails the Red Bull driver by just 139 points. But before the weekend, there were 164 points left on the table for each driver, and there are now just 138.

There are five races remaining on the 22-race schedule, and race wins pay 25 points each. There is an additional point on the table for the driver who runs each race’s fastest lap, and there is also one sprint qualifying race left on the calendar. The winner of that race scores eight points.

Also eliminated from title contention this past weekend was Mercedes’ George Russell. Russell sits one point ahead of Sainz, 138 points behind Verstappen, but Verstappen has clinched the tiebreaker, having won 11 races already this year. Russell hasn’t won a race and therefore has no way of passing Verstappen in that category before the end of the season.

Still in contention, aside from Verstappen, are Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Leclerc, who trails Verstappen by 104 points, and Perez, who trails his teammate by 106 points, could both be eliminated in this coming Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit.

There will be just 112 points on the table for each driver after this race, meaning that Verstappen could clinch his second consecutive title on Sunday, October 9. ESPN is set to broadcast the race live beginning at 1:00 a.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now if you haven’t already done so!