Lewis Hamilton’s fifth title victory is now all but a formality as he heads into the Mexican Grand Prix, needing just five points to seal the deal.
The simplest title permutation for the Mexican Grand Prix is that if Lewis Hamilton finishes seventh or higher, he will be crowned 2018 champion.
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
| Driver | Team | Points | |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 346 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 276 |
The odds are stacked in Hamilton’s favour as we head to Mexico. He has a 70 point advantage with only 75 points still available in 2018. The leader of the championship after the U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas has never failed to go on and win the title. In fact, Sebastian Vettel must win every remaining race in the 2018 season to stand any chance of winning this year’s title – and for that to happen, Lewis Hamilton would have to score less than five points in the remaining three rounds for the German to beat the Brit to a fifth title.
Hamilton will win the title in Mexico unless:
- Vettel wins, and Hamilton finishes eighth
- Vettel wins, and Hamilton finishes ninth
- Vettel wins and Hamilton finishes tenth
- Vettel wins, and Hamilton fails to score
Hamilton will win the title in Mexico if:
- He finishes seventh or higher
or
- Vettel fails to win, regardless of where Hamilton finishes
Hamilton has never taken the title in the same country twice before, but this season will be the first time it happens – he’s won his previous four titles in America, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. (This will also be the case if Vettel wins the title – he can only do so in Abu Dhabi, where he was crowned champion in 2010).
A New Points Record?
The most points Lewis Hamilton can score this season is 421. The current record of points scored in a single season is 397, from Sebastian Vettel in 2013. Hamilton needs 51 points to beat this record. The most points Sebastian Vettel could score this year is 351, which is less than he scored in his 2011 and 2013 title winning years.
| YEAR | CHAMPION | POINTS SCORED |
| 2010 | SEBASTIAN VETTEL | 256 |
| 2011 | SEBASTIAN VETTEL | 392 |
| 2012 | SEBASTIAN VETTEL | 281 |
| 2013 | SEBASTIAN VETTEL | 397 |
| 2014 | LEWIS HAMILTON | 384 |
| 2015 | LEWIS HAMILTON | 381 |
| 2016 | NICO ROSBERG | 385 |
| 2017 | LEWIS HAMILTON | 363 |
| 2018 | LEWIS HAMILTON* | 346* |