Published 13:57 IST, October 14th 2019
F1 News: Mercedes emerge victorious in 2019 Constructors' Championship
Valtteri Bottas finishes first, as Vettel and Hamilton follow to secure the Constructors' championship for Mercedes in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.
For a sixth successive year, Mercedes have won the Constructor's Championship this season. The automobile giant secured the Constructor's Championship on Sunday after amassing a mammoth 612 points. Valtteri Bottas' victory in Japan effectively rules out Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel from winning the Driver's Championship. This means that only Bottas and current world champion Lewis Hamilton are in contention for it.
Hamilton looked set to secure another Driver's Championship win in Japan, but a pit-stop blunder from the Mercedes team means that the five-time Formula One world champion will have to wait to secure his sixth title. The Brit is widely regarded as the best driver of his generation and is also regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. With Bottas finishing first and Hamilton settling on third, Mercedes dominated the podium in the Japanese Grand Prix. With Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc out of the running, Mercedes will become the first team in the history of Formula One to win six consecutive constructors' and individual championships.
Even though Hamilton missed out on the number one spot, he did manage to register the fastest lap of the race. The defending world champion was left with a bitter taste in his mouth as he was left doubting Mercedes' dubious pit stop strategy. Hamilton currently has a lead of 64 points over the second-placed Bottas. Hamilton has secured 338 points in the Driver's Championship standings so far, with victories in Bahrain, China, Spain, Monaco, Canada, France, Great Britain, Hungary and Russia. With four races to go this season, and a maximum of 104 points on offer, Hamilton will look to clinch his sixth driver's championship in the next race in Mexico City. If Hamilton finishes first and teammate Valtteri Bottas comes in at fifth or lower, Hamilton will win the title. A victory in Mexico City will also move him into touching distance of Michael Schumacher's record of seven championship titles.
Ferrari's failure in the Japanese Grand Prix
Meanwhile, the Japanese Grand Prix was not without its share of drama, as Sebastian Vettel was lucky to escape punishment for an apparent jumped start to the race, despite starting on pole. His teammate Charles Leclerc was slapped with a five-second penalty after bumping into Red Bull's Max Verstappen, before being handed an additional 10-second penalty for continuing to drive the car in an unsafe condition. Mexico's track has always proven to be a bit of a sticky race for Mercedes. Hamilton, therefore, will have to be at his very best to secure his sixth Driver's Championship in Mexico's capital city.
Updated 16:26 IST, October 14th 2019