Lewis Hamilton looks set to seal the Formula One world title at Mexican Grand Prix but the constructors’ championship could go down to the wire
The drivers’ championship may be all but over, but Mercedes will want Lewis Hamilton to do more than just scrape the five points he needs to claim his fifth world title at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, with the race for the constructors’ championship still hanging in the balance.
When team-mate Valtteri Bottas surrendered fourth place to Sebastian Vettel in the United States last Sunday, he not only kept the drivers’ championship alive but also lost Mercedes valuable points in the race for Formula One’s team prize.
Ferrari closed in to 66 points behind rivals Mercedes with three races to go following Kimi Raikkonen’s win in Texas, while Vettel’s fourth place finish meant Ferrari took home a total of 37 points – 12 more than the 25 from the Mercedes duo, who finished in third and fifth.
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There are still plenty of points up for grabs, with a maximum of 129 available to each team in the remaining three races and Mercedes will be looking for Bottas to start pulling his weight towards the season’s climax, despite forcing him to play second fiddle to Hamilton all year.
The Mercedes No2 driver is winless so far this campaign, but would have claimed victory in Russia had it not been for team orders to let Hamilton through. He followed up that disappointment with another second place finish to Hamilton in Japan, before struggling to fifth in America last time out.
Meanwhile, Raikkonen’s resurgence has come at just the right time for Ferrari. The Finn stood on the podium for the 10th time this season with his win in the US and moved into third in the drivers' standings, ahead of his compatriot Bottas.
Raikkonen helped close the gap to Mercedes in the constructors' championship with his win in the US (Source: Getty)
It was the 39-year-old's first win since the Australian Grand Prix in 2013 and he has now claimed 10 top five finishes in his last 11 races as he looks to end his career with Ferrari on a high. He returns to Sauber next season, 18 years after joining them for the first time.
The constructors’ competition remains important in what can often be overlooked as a team sport and Mercedes are aiming for a fifth in a row – a sequence that would eclipse Red Bull's run of domination earlier in the decade.
Team principal Toto Wolff is tasked with leading his team to victory, with Hamilton’s individual success coming as a consequence of that.
"It's stressful, the drivers' championship, we're in a solid position, but I always said we mustn't drop the ball. We've seen that in the past with other teams, and with the constructors' championship, that is very important for the team,” Wolff said after the US Grand Prix.
"Nothing is done yet. There are 129 points to be scored with 66 that we have. Of course that is a good buffer but there is no reason to giggle away and think that you have the trophy in your hand because we can see that we haven't got in our hands."
Toto Wolff has urged his team to keep fighting for "important constructors' title" (Source: Getty)
Slipping behind Ferrari at the last will mean the season is deemed a failure for Mercedes, especially given their dominant position going into the final four races.
It would also cost the German manufacturer millions of pounds in prize money, although they would not have to face the repercussions of that until the end of next season, with the money paid out a year in arrears.
Hamilton only needs five points in the next three races to become the joint-second most successful driver ever and draw level with Juan Manuel Fangio on five world titles. If Vettel fails to win all of the remaining three races, the Briton will claim the championship anyway.
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Mercedes will need to pick up 20 points more than Ferrari in Mexico in order to seal the constructors’ title, but such a feat will likely only be achieved with a one-two victory on race day, with the Ferraris finishing worse than third and fourth.
Each team can take a maximum of 43 points from any given race weekend and so the current cushion held by Mercedes could be significantly shortened if things go against them in Mexico.
Should Ferrari come out on top again, there is serious potential for the team championship to go right down to the wire in Brazil and then Abu Dhabi.