Lewis Hamilton inched closer to a sixth world championship with third place at the Japanese Grand Prix — he can wrap it up in Mexico City on Oct. 27.
Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who is now the only other driver with mathematical options of clinching the title, won that race to close the gap to 64 points with 104 to play for at the persisting four races.
There will be 78 left in play after the Mexico City race, meaning Hamilton’s lead over Bottas at the end of that race must be equal to or greater than that to be champion — even if the Finn wins the remaining races, Hamilton will win any head-to-head tiebreaker on account of the number of victories scored this year.
Effectively, he needs at least a 14-point swing over his teammate, meaning he must finish on the podium to have a chance of sealing it.
F1’s points system rewards the top ten drivers in the following fashion: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. As of this year, there is also an additional point on offer for anyone who finishes in the top ten and manages to secure the fastest lap of the race.
Hamilton guaranteed reporters he was in no hurry.
“For me, it’s never been a case of always wanting to rush things,” he said.
“I think Mexico is generally our worst race of the year because of the way our car is set up and it’s going to be a tough one for us. The last few have been pretty shocking, even though we’ve won the title there.
“I don’t anticipate it (the decider) will be Mexico. I think we will be battling for a good few races.”
Hamilton won his 2017 and 2018 titles at Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which returned to the calendar in 2015 for the first time in 23 years.
There is no real uncertainty about who will be champion, just a case of when.
“Lewis will win it. Doesn’t matter which race. I don’t think it matters for him, does it? It wouldn’t matter to me,” said Ferrari’s four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel, second on Sunday.
