With only two races left in this year’s circuit, Lewis Hamilton is poised to take his second F1 World Championship since 2008, when he eked out the trophy by a single point over Felipe Massa. Hamilton now leads Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who finished second on Sunday, by 24 points.
Hamilton of Great Britain extended his win streak to five in a row with his latest victory at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. Hamilton has won two races on that track, now in its third year of existence, bookending a win by last year’s world champion Sebastian Vettel.
On the year, Hamilton has won ten of seventeen races, with Rosberg picking up four more. It is mathematically possible for Rosberg, currently in second place in points, to end up with the championship this year, but he is no longer the master of his own destiny. Simply winning out the remaining races would not give him enough points to overtake Hamilton, should Hamilton finish no worse than second.
New rules this year will award double points for the last race of the season, which could, by design, shake up the final standings, and keep the final races interesting.
Hamilton and Rosberg have dominated the F1 circuit this year, and with the championship on the line, there will be some fierce battles over the next two races. However, if this year’s trends hold and Hamilton can avoid crashes, retiring, and finish in the top two spots in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, he’ll have another world champion trophy to add to his growing collection.
Photo credit: Mark Snelgrove
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