Japanese Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas ‘realistic’ about his chances of catching Lewis Hamilton despite Suzuka win
Bottas trails by 64 points with just four races left in the season
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton’s last remaining championship challenger says he will need to be “very lucky” to stop the Briton from sealing his sixth title.
Valtteri Bottas won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to take nine points out of Hamilton’s championship lead.
But Hamilton will head to Mexico City for next weekend’s grand prix 64 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate with just 104 still available.
Hamilton will move to within one triumph of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record if he wins at the high-altitude venue and Bottas crosses the line fifth or lower.
“Everything is possible,” said Bottas, following his first victory since April. “But I am realistic as well. I will need to be very lucky to win the rest of the races. That is a fact.
“It is mostly my bad that I am this far behind in the points to Lewis. It is my fault and I will try to fix that in the future.”
Hamilton, 34, travelled from Suzuka to Tokyo with Bottas before flying to London. The Englishman will this week spend time with family ahead of his potential coronation a week on Sunday.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team clinched the title in Japan, and with the five-time world champion and Bottas now the only men left in the running to win the drivers’ championship, the Silver Arrows will become the first team in Formula One history to win six consecutive constructors’ and individual crowns.
But Hamilton’s boss Toto Wolff insists the sport’s most successful team must honour the memory of Niki Lauda – the team’s late non-executive chairman who died in May – by turning their attention to winning a seventh straight title in 2020.
“This sixth championship is a very special one and we dedicate it to Niki,” said team principal Wolff. “He has been such an important part from the beginning, and we all miss him dearly.
“I think about him every day and still find it hard to believe that he’s not here any more. I keep thinking to myself ‘what would Niki say and what would he think?’
“He probably would have said ‘congratulations for the sixth one, but you have a challenge on your hands for next year.’ It was his way of making sure that we were never complacent.”
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments