Where the title was won and lost
Lewis Hamilton ultimately beat Sebastian Vettel by a mammoth 88 points but at one stage of the campaign the 2018 Formula 1 title fight was a close-run affair, with every point seemingly crucial. Motorsport Week reflects on where the title was won and lost for its respective protagonists.
Azerbaijan
Sebastian Vettel started the campaign with back-to-back victories, profiting from Mercedes’ computer miscalculation in Australia, but his gap was reduced after a miserable Chinese GP, in which he was spun by Max Verstappen. Vettel struck back in Azerbaijan but relinquished the lead to Valtteri Bottas and a gamble at prising the spot back left him locking up, running deep, and dropping to fourth. Bottas’ late puncture handed victory to none other than Mercedes team-mate Hamilton.
Britain
One of the races of the season? Undoubtedly, in terms of start-to-finish action. Hamilton appeared odds-on favourite at a venue where he thrives but a poor start left him under pressure, and a wayward Kimi Raikkonen spun him at Village. That opened the door for Vettel, who went on to sweep past off-strategy Bottas in the closing stages, but Hamilton put in a stunning salvation job by recovering to second spot, limiting the damage in the title race.
Germany
The shower that doused Hockenheim during the German Grand Prix can now be properly regarded as the moment when the season changed. Vettel’s dominance was undone by the smallest of errors that had the largest of consequences, as his dreams of a home win evaporated when he slithered into the wall at Sachskurve. Compounding his agony was that rival Hamilton, already in fourth after a sweeping drive from 14th, stayed out as Bottas and Raikkonen pitted, inheriting a lead he preserved until the flag.
Hungary
This should have been a race won by Ferrari. Instead, it was Hamilton who triumphed, taking advantage once more from inclement weather, this time during qualifying. Hamilton led away from pole position while Vettel spent much of the race recovering from fourth, his prospects blunted further from a slightly slow – and mystifyingly postponed – stop that left him still behind Bottas. Vettel eventually overhauled Bottas – by which time Hamilton was long gone.
Italy
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Vettel’s dominant win in Belgium alerted Mercedes to its own weaknesses, and it eventually addresses those problems, but in Italy Ferrari still held the fort. And yet a front-row lockout was wasted as Vettel spun under pressure from Hamilton on the first lap while the Briton kept pace with Raikkonen, before the SF71H’s blistered tyres facilitated the Mercedes driver to overtake. How different it may have been had Ferrari got Raikkonen to tow Vettel in Q3, not the other way around…
Japan
Mercedes pulled clear in Singapore and Russia, the former down to Hamilton’s outstanding pole lap and Ferrari’s poor tyre strategy, the latter just in pure pace alone – and some team instructions. Vettel’s ambitions were already hanging by a thread but Suzuka was the death knell. A litany of errors in qualifying left Vettel ninth and an early clash with Verstappen wrecked his lingering ambitions. Hamilton breezed to victory and a 67-point lead with just four rounds left. Game over.
USA
The Drivers’ title was already effectively lost but the race in Austin underpinned the belief that Ferrari had lost its way in terms of development. The team reverted to an older-spec baseline and unlocked pace from the SF71H that had been missing in preceding rounds. Kimi Raikkonen fended off Verstappen and Hamilton to triumph while another pair of errors hurt Vettel. Nonetheless, it showed how Ferrari had gone wrong at a crucial phase of the season, just as everything clicked for Mercedes.
