Formula 1 returns from its summer recess next week with back-to-back events at iconic circuits in Belgium and Italy. Motorsport Week takes a look at some of the key talking points, starting with the dynamics of the championship battle.
The W08 vs the SF70-H…
Mercedes has been joined at the front by Ferrari this year, with the teams splitting victories 6-4. However, the dynamic has changed across the course of the campaign; the performance of the teams ebbed and flowed during the first six events, but since then Mercedes has tended to hold the upper hand. Following its nadir in Monaco, Mercedes undertook 10 days of 24-hour shifts at its factory in a bid to unearth its potential, and struck back with a sequence of strong performances both in qualifying and race trim. Ferrari was on top in Hungary – though such pace had been expected, due to its superiority at high-downforce circuits with shorter straights. Of the upcoming venues, only Singapore has similar characteristics, with other tracks expected to play to the strengths of a Mercedes team which is on an uphill trajectory. Ferrari, in previous years, has started strongly and slipped behind in the development race; can it, finally, stay in the hunt in 2017?
Vettel vs Hamilton…
On the driver front, the summer break has permitted the protagonists to relax, reset, and attack the second half of the campaign with a fresh mind, but the next nine events take place across a 13-week spell across several continents. It is a gruelling schedule, and both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton will need to be at the top of their game, as will Valtteri Bottas. Vettel and Hamilton have both let the pressure get to them at stages in their career; Vettel infamously took out his anger on Hamilton in Baku, costing himself 13 points, while Hamilton last year risked the wrath of Mercedes’ management last year with his reaction to his cruel engine failure in Malaysia – which was followed by an off-colour show a week later in Japan. Crucial decisions made in the heat of the moment may well decide the outcome of this year’s title, and there is still a third factor in the battle…
Can the third man become the main man?
Vettel has firmly established himself as Ferrari’s de facto number one, with Kimi Räikkönen playing the dutiful team-mate. Mercedes, meanwhile, has maintained the approach it adopted in previous seasons, giving equal treatment to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, demonstrated aptly by the tactics it used in Hungary. Hamilton remains Mercedes’ best title prospect, lying just 14 points behind Vettel, but Bottas is only a further 19 points in arrears – and, lest it be forgotten, Bottas lost a chunk of points through his engine failure in Spain. Both Vettel and Hamilton are known quantities in a title scrap, but Bottas is the unknown factor, presented with a title-winning opportunity for the first time in his Formula 1 career, and how he deals with the developing situation will be intriguing. Bottas was the in-form driver prior to the summer break, with five straight podiums, and remains in the hunt. Continuing to bank strong results across the next handful of events is crucial for his prospects, for Mercedes will not be able to back both horses forever.
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