F1: How Red Bull can take home the bacon in Austin

The big money to win in Formula 1 is the Constructors Championship. Mercedes has had a lock on that money for the last 8 years, but this year Red Bull is set to take it away.

Red Bull head to the United States Grand Prix looking to do the double and add to Max Verstappen’s title triumph by wrapping up the 2022 constructors’ championship – and the math is heavily on their side.

Following their fifth one-two finish of the season last time out in Japan, Red Bull hold a massive lead of 165 points over nearest challengers Ferrari, with only 191 more points up for grabs across the remaining four races (with Brazil featuring the Sprint format).

Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari F1-75 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 and the rest of the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on July 24, 2022 in Le Castellet, France. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

It means Red Bull need to hold an advantage of 147 points at the end of the Austin weekend to put the championship to bed and secure their first constructors’ crown since the 2013 campaign.

In order to delay Red Bull’s celebrations, Ferrari must outscore their rivals by 19 points at the Circuit of The Americas, with a one-two finish and the bonus point for fastest lap offering 44 points.

Even then, Red Bull could simply finish in P3 and P4 with Verstappen and Sergio Perez to wrap up the title – 27 points being the reward for those two positions.

If Ferrari fail to maximize their points return (something the Scuderia have only achieved once in 2022, at the Bahrain season opener), a victory and fastest lap bonus point for either Verstappen or Perez would be enough to get the job done.

Finally, if Verstappen and Perez cross the line ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz next weekend, there will be nothing more that Ferrari can do to prevent Red Bull from winning the championship.