Lewis Hamilton has his second of four match points at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix in his bid to wrap up the 2018 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Hamilton entered the US Grand Prix holding a 67-point advantage over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and needed to extend that to 75 if he was to depart Austin as champion.
Hamilton came third, with Vettel fourth, meaning that the gap between them has grown to 70 points, but that the fight remains mathematically open.
In order to wrap up the title at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for a second successive season, Hamilton does not necessarily need to do anything.
It is Vettel who must strike back in commanding fashion if he is to keep his dwindling prospects alive.
Vettel must win all three Grands Prix, with Hamilton scoring fewer than five points, if he is to stage the most extraordinary comeback.
Therefore Hamilton will be crowned champion on Sunday if:
Vettel does not win the Grand Prix
Vettel wins the Grand Prix, while he places anywhere inside the top seven
Hamilton's potential title party could be matched by Mercedes' success, with the manufacturer chasing its fifth straight Constructors' Championship.
Mercedes holds a 66-point advantage over Ferrari and will leave Mexico assured of the crown should it out-score its Italian opponent by 21 points.
