Britain’s Lewis Hamilton has been a dominant force in the world of Formula 1 for the last two seasons, with the Mercedes driver having rallied to back-to-back Championship victories for his team.
The Stevenage-born steerer won in both 2017 and 2018 to take his total Drivers’ Championship triumphs to five, meaning he is the most successful Briton in the sport’s history.
Hamilton is currently joint-second in the list of most ever Championship wins too, level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and just two titles behind all-time great Michael Schumacher. That top record is within sight for the 34-year-old for sure and he can take one step closer to it with victory this season.
But, is there anyone who can stop the supreme Mercedes steerer this current campaign? Here are the leading drivers set to battle it out during the remainder of the present Formula 1 season.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is the leader at the moment, as has become the norm of late, and he is eagerly in pursuit of his sixth world title victory.
The dominant British world champion is currently leading the way once again and he is regarded as the odds-on 1/2 favourite with bet365 in the F1 betting to prevail with yet another Drivers’ Championship success this current campaign.
There are a few drivers who can challenge Mercedes’ main man but it looks likely the British legend can cement his spot in history without another Championship crown in 2019.
Valtteri Bottas
If anyone is going to put an end to Hamilton’s dominance at the summit of the sport then it’s his own Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The Finland native has plenty of experience and looks set to be in contention with his stablemate right to the end of the term. He is currently the 9/2 second-favourite to prevail outright and claim what would be his first ever Championship victory.
But there’s still a long way to go and it will be interesting to see how Team Mercedes deal with it if both their drivers are battling it out for the title in the final Grand Prix circuits of the season.
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian Vettel has struggled to reach the previously superior standards he set during his four Championship reigns across 2010 to 2013.
The 31-year-old is always in and around the top contenders each season and he will likely be there again to contest for the world crown in the coming months.
There has long been a tense rivalry between the German steerer and current world champion Hamilton too, which adds to the drama and excitement of their match-ups each time a circuit rolls around.
But can the experienced four-time world title holder rally to a shock success this year? He has it all to do to maintain a strong pace with Hamilton but he is a promising 7/1 outsider to clinch a fifth career triumph.