One thing is for sure, this year’s Formula One title battle has been one of the most interesting for some time.
With drivers from three teams fighting for race victories, it has been much more exciting this year compared to the previous three, as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have been producing some great racing.
With 14 of the 20 rounds done, realistically only five people can win the title, so who is in the fight for championship and what do they need to do to take the crown?
Kimi Räikkönen
The 2007 world champion has a lot of work to do if he’s even going to get close to capturing this year’s crown, but if fortune goes his way he could get very close. The Ferrari-driving Finn needs a lot of luck, mind you, as he is 125 points behind Lewis Hamilton at the top of the standings, so he’d need to win five out of the six races and hope the rest of the people on this list struggle as well – so it’s pretty unlikely.
Daniel Ricciardo
The charismatic Australian also needs a fair bit of fortune to get close to the top of the standings come November 26. However fast and great to watch the Red Bull driver is, he needs to win four out of the next six with all his rivals failing to finish if he is to get close to his first driver’s title, so – again – his chances are pretty slim.
Valtteri Bottas
The Finnish Mercedes driver is well in with a shot of winning this year’s title as he’s only 51 points behind Hamilton, but he needs his teammate to struggle at tracks that he has done very well at in the past. But Bottas has been quick this year and is more than capable of challenging Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at his very best.
Sebastian Vettel
Okay, here is the first realistic title challenger. Vettel had led the standings since the opening race of the season, but after poor results in Italy and Singapore, he is now 23 points behind Hamilton. But at least Vettel has statistics on his side – every season he has led the championship at some point, he has won it, so there is time for the German yet to add to his four championships in 2017.
Lewis Hamilton
The Brit currently leads the standings and is looking most likely to be champion come the end of this season. He has been on superb form since the summer break and is the only driver to win consecutive races all year. He also has three more wins than Vettel this season – seven – but has suffered some very poor results. He could yet falter, but the reliability of the Mercedes paired with tracks that suit the Silver Arrow and the 31-year-old could mean he’s well on the way to his fourth title.
