Six-time Formula One World Drivers Championship title holder Lewis Hamilton has a big weekend ahead of him. If he wins the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom this weekend, he will stand level with F1 legend Michael Schumacher with 91 Grand Prix wins.

It appears to be inevitable that Hamilton will match and probably surpass the German's record of victories this season. The Briton is also well on his way to securing a seventh F1 World Championship title this season. That would also bring him equal to Schumacher's title record.

Hamilton finds himself in the best position to chase his 91st victory by starting in pole position on Sunday. It was a thrilling qualifying session wherein Hamilton's Mercedes barely made it to the line to set his Q2 time. His first run was deleted and everyone was scrambling to get a second flying lap in after a red flag stopped the session. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel had a major crash that left debris all over the track. With just over two minutes of the session left, Hamilton and the rest of the field had to scramble to get a flying lap and into the top ten.

Q3 was a lot calmer and Hamilton secured pole, which is frankly expected at this point in the season. However, the Mercedes Team did show a chink in its armour after Valtteri Bottas was beaten to second place by Red Bull's Max Verstappen. With Bottas notoriously poor off the line, The Dutchman will have a prime opportunity to attack Hamilton.

With such a long run down to the first corner, Hamilton will be giving Verstappen a slipstream before they turn in. Bottas also has an opportunity to benefit from the slipstream. While it is unlikely that the team would have given him orders to take advantage and try to zoom past Hamilton, he has already shown in previous races that he isn't content to just play second fiddle to his teammate so he just might make a bold move.

Hamilton has also been suffering from tyre wear issues this season. It's the only major challenge he's had to face in 2020, but it may play a major role in Sochi. His soft tyres are good to start with, but with such a slow pit stop in this track, he will be wanting to avoid doing two stops. Nevertheless, barring some major issues, it appears inevitable that Hamilton will take that 91st victory to equal Schumacher. It's really just a matter of time.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher at Mercedes after the German's second stint in F1 between 2010 and 2012 Getty