5 talking points ahead of the US Grand Prix

1) Championships over after Austin?

The main topic ahead of the US Grand Prix is that Lewis Hamilton could clinch his fourth world championship in Austin on Sunday. Hamilton himself does not expect to complete his mission this weekend but if he was to win the race and championship rival Vettel finished sixth or lower on the grid then the drivers title will be decided with three races still to go in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

The constructors championship is more likely to be won by Mercedes in the US to mark their 4th consecutive title as the silver arrows currently lead Ferrari by 145 points as the Scuderia team must outscore the leaders by 17 points to remain in mathematical contention until Mexico.

As mentioned earlier, the Circuit of the Americas has proved to be a fortress for Hamilton since the race track joined F1 in 2012.

The last time the British driver won the world championship was in America in 2015 taking it away from ex team mate Nico Rosberg for the second year in a row. Hamilton has told the press he does not expect to clinch the big title this weekend but aims to win the race on Sunday despite Ferrari to be tipped as favourites to take 1st place after a disastrous performance in their last three races in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.

A bit of history could take place this weekend but many fans hope the championship between Hamilton and Vettel will at least carry on for another week.

Edited by Anuradha Santhanam