With the summer break just around the corner, the German Grand Prix was always going to be a key race for those drivers chasing new contracts for 2020. And when the rain came down on race day, the crazy conditions allowed some to shine and left others dreadfully exposed.
Pierre Gasly
Mark Thompson, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Already under pressure just to keep his Red Bull seat for the rest of this year, Pierre Gasly’s German Grand Prix was a nightmare he just didn’t need. After starting the weekend with a chassis-wrecking shunt in FP2, Gasly then spent most of the race once again mired in the midfield pack, before retiring in ignominious fashion after rear-ending (ironically, some might say) Alex Albon’s Toro Rosso.
With his teammate again excelling across the weekend to take Red Bull’s second victory of the season, Hockenheim might just be the final nail in the coffin for Gasly.
Daniil Kvyat
Peter Fox, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Gasly’s error-strewn weekend was bad enough by itself, without Daniil Kvyat putting in arguably the drive of his career to steal an unlikely third place for Toro Rosso.
Helmut Marko was quick after the race to say Kvyat’s podium didn’t guarantee him Gasly’s seat for the rest of the year—after all, a podium wasn’t enough to keep Kvyat himself in that seat back in 2016. But even if Red Bull don’t give him another chance at the senior team, Kvyat’s Hockenheim performance will have certainly raised his stock ahead of a potential midfield reshuffle.
Valtteri Bottas
LAT Images / Mercedes AMG
Toto Wolff said at the start of the German Grand Prix weekend that Valtteri Bottas needed “two solid performances in Hockenheim and Budapest” to be sure of a contract extension for 2020.
Judging by Wolff’s table-banging and audible cry of “Damn it, Valtteri!” as Bottas spun into the wall on lap 56, the Finn’s chances of keeping his seat from Esteban Ocon have been considerably reduced. Add to that his lacklustre early race pace and qualifying defeat by both Max Verstappen and an unwell Lewis Hamilton, and this becomes a very costly weekend for Bottas’s future.
Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen
Haas F1 Media
Gunther Steiner was visibly furious with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen after they hit each other late on at Hockenheim, just one race after taking each other out on the first lap at Silverstone.
A driver change now looks like a certainty, though whether Steiner and Gene Haas have enough patience left to wait until 2020 is still up for debate. If not, Ferrari simulator driver Pascal Wehrlein is thought to be the most likely to slot into one of the cars after the summer break.
It was a dry but overcast afternoon in Monaco and, as the green light went out in Q1, eighteen of the drivers took to the Circuit de Monaco in a bid to claim pole position.
Monaco is a tight street circuit, so many choose to set competitive times early to avoid being caught out by a yellow or red flag. Early lap times are crucial at this track.
Both Red Bulls of Gasly and Verstappen sat in the garage at the beginning of Q1, with Verstappen’s car being pulled apart and swiftly put back together. Whatever issues he had seemed to have been fixed as he exited the garage.
Leclerc struggled to set a good lap time at the start of the session, having been held up by Lance Stroll. Hulkenberg almost ran into Giovinazzi in a very similar situation at turn 18, with the pair being put under investigation for the incident.
Verstappen had the initial time to beat, three tenths quicker than defending world champion Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc was in third, with Alex Albon sitting in an impressive fourth place for Toro Rosso.
Hamilton also seemed to struggle, as replays showed the Mercedes driver locking up going into the chicane. After a bit of a scrappy lap, his teammate Bottas managed to set the pace with a 1:11.562.
Steve Etherington
Leclerc then missed the weighbridge procedure, as did Perez and Hulkenberg. All were investigated after qualifying came to a close for the infringements.
Vettel clipped the barrier at the Swimming Pool exit before pitting and returning to the track to set a competitive time. The Ferraris were cutting it fine in P17 and P15 as the chequered flag came out.
After topping the session in FP3, Leclerc dropped out of the session in a disappointing P16 at his home Grand Prix, having been left in the garage by Ferrari as the session came to a close. It was a costly and frustrating mistake which resulted in Leclerc falling behind traffic on his final attempt. Joining Leclerc in the drop-zone were Perez, Stroll, Russell and Kubica.
Both Mercedes went out at the beginning of Q2, with Bottas setting a new track record and Hamilton struggling to match the pace of his teammate in P3 behind Verstappen. Hamilton quickly managed to slot into second spot.
Several drivers made minor mistakes throughout the session, including Magnussen who clipped the wall going into Mirabeau as his Haas struggled to find grip.
With five minutes remaining in Q2, all drivers bar Verstappen went out to set their quickest laps. Verstappen sat in P1 in front of both Silver Arrows as the session ended with Hulkenberg, Norris, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Giovinazzi in the elimination zone. Grosjean was majorly unhappy with P13 after having been held up by the Red Bull of Pierre Gasly, who was then put under investigation for the incident.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Both Alfa Romeo cars had a disappointing session after showing great pace in free practice, finishing in P14 and P15.
Vettel sat in P4, followed by Kevin Magnussen and both Toro Rossos. Gasly sat in P8 with Daniel Ricciardo behind in P9. Rounding out the top 10 was McLaren’s Carlos Sainz.
The final part of qualifying got underway as all ten drivers took to the track on soft compound tyres. Valtteri Bottas set the initial pace with a staggering 1:10.257, four tenths ahead of Max Verstappen in second position.
Hamilton initially made a mistake going into the chicane which meant his first lap had to be aborted, but he managed to slot into P2 on his second run, two tenths behind his teammate.
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo made a risky decision to go for only one flying lap in the session and managed P6.
Sebastian Vettel made a late mistake and ran into the barrier at Tabac, but he didn’t sustain any damage.
After a flawless performance throughout qualifying by Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton pipped his teammate as the chequered flag came out, clinching pole position by half a tenth from Bottas.
Behind, Max Verstappen lined up P3 followed by Sebastian Vettel in P4, Gasly, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Sainz, and Albon.
It was certainly an interesting session with several cars being investigated for impeding the regulations throughout the afternoon. It was another dominant session by Mercedes, but an extremely disappointing day for Ferrari who will have to rethink their strategy for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix. What’s more, with a 60% chance of rain, it certainly seems as if the race could be full of surprises.
This piece began life as a riff on the pedigree of the new Rich Energy livery. I was going to work in a great joke about how their next big news was going to be signing Pastor Maldonado for 2020 or releasing a bespoke line of co-branded e-cigarettes since we’re already ripping off paying homage to Lotus.
Haas F1 MediaAndrew Ferraro/LAT/Pirelli Media
You know, the cheap laughs, good for clicks, and safe for me because I’m in Colorado and likely won’t bump into any of you down the pub.
Grand Prix 1970 van Nederland voor Formule I wagens , Zandvoort; Dan Gurney , kop *21 juni 1970
As I wrote, though, it changed into a meditation on the current state of American participation in Formula One. As an American I feel like I should cheer unreservedly for Gene Haas’ global marketing program Formula One team. After all, apart from a sprinkling of my fellow Americans in positions of influence and authority we’re thin on the ground in motorsport’s pinnacle series. We’ve had a few successful drivers, among them Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and Mario Andretti (though I suspect the Italians would be glad to claim Andretti as well), but we’ve not produced a significant number of successful teams.
Back in reality, though, Haas F1 Team has mainly been an American team in name and funding. Though headquartered alongside Stewart-Haas Racing in Kannapolis, the staff are based primarily in Marussia’s former Banbury facility and in Varano de’ Melegari, with, y’know, Dallara. Ferrari of course does the engines and whatnot.
While the technical tie-ups with Ferrari and Dallara have sparked a good deal of controversy, the Euro-centric arrangements Gene Haas put in place make a lot of sense given the realities of the sport. Operating primarily from North America would put any team at a significant disadvantage from a purely logistical perspective, to say nothing of the knowledge and infrastructure bases that would have to be built from the ground up. Our home-grown motorsport talent is top notch, but as Honda’s troubled return to the series has shown, Formula One is a whole ‘nother animal. Operating from the UK and Italy just makes sense.
The Rich Energy sponsorship makes it plain that the funding piece is now decidedly less American. I understand this – Formula 1 is an expensive sport the way the ocean is damp. As the old adage goes, it’s a great way to make millionaires out of billionaires.
Emotion, though, doesn’t care quite as much for these facts. While I’ve been a Silver Arrows man since Mercedes took over Brawn GP, and was a staunch Nico Rosberg supporter until his retirement (don’t @ me, I’m of German heritage), I’ve been proud to see Haas on the grid. It hurts to see Rich Energy take pride of place in the branding, despite the large Haas logo on the car.
The cynic in me says that hey, the team was a marketing vehicle for Haas Automation, and it’s clearly fulfilled its goal. This tie-up with Rich Energy looks like a great way for Gene to gently wind up his involvement in Formula One over the course of the next few years.
The very idea that this is might be the strategic plan leaves me feeling sad. Of course teams churn in Formula One – the glamor and history of the series ensure a ready supply of new money to replace the old, and it’s just good sense to buy as much infrastructure and talent as you can. So much the better if you can exit with dignity and pocketbook (mostly) intact.
If we can’t have another AAR, I’d be glad for this Haas to stick around.
Time will tell, I suppose. In the meantime I can’t wait to see the machine on track, driven in anger.
Oh, and the livery? It’s alright, I guess. Lotus wore it well, but I’d have liked to see something new and different from an up and coming energy drinks company.
The title has been decided, but that doesn’t mean the season is over just yet. The 20th round of 2018 was ready to bring some spectacle, with the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
Once again qualifying took place under difficult circumstances. Interlagos is (in)famous for its unpredictable weather conditions, and this year was no exception. This resulted in Lewis Hamilton taking Mercedes’ 100th pole position and his luck didn’t stop there. Sebastian Vettel secured second place, although both drivers were at risk of losing their positions. Hamilton seemed like he wasn’t awake at times as he blocked Sergey Sirotkin during his outlap and hindered Kimi Räikkönen on his flying lap, but it didn’t end up in a penalty, a strange decision by the FIA.
Lewis Hamilton. Photo curtesy of Pirelli
Vettel’s incident was even stranger. Vettel was called in for inspection and had to go onto the weigh bridge. In his haste, he drove onto the weigh bridge itself, and drove off it with his engine turned on, therefore destroying the weigh bridge. This resulted in a reprimand and a $25,000 fine.
Honourable mention goes to Charles Leclerc. During Q2 he was out of the top 10. Reporting to his team that it was raining too heavily, he put in a superb lap which saw him continue to Q3. There Sauber surprisingly locked the fourth row, but Daniel Ricciardo would drop five places due to a grid penalty.
On race day it seemed like it would stay dry but there was still a threat of a potential thunderstorm. Vettel locked his brakes into turn one, giving Valtteri Bottas second place immediately. Meanwhile, both Renault drivers were battling each other, they even had a slight touch but survived.
In lap four it was a very bold move from Max Verstappen who dive-bombed Vettel, giving him third place. However, the Ferrari’s were on the soft tyres while the other two top teams were on the supersofts. Ricciardo quickly found his way back to the top six and was now charging the slower Ferrari’s ahead. His teammate took second place though, overtaking Bottas into the first corner. The Finn was really struggling, with Räikkönen, Vettel and Ricciardo knocking on his door.
Lap 16 saw the first pit stop, Fernando Alonso came in but his rear right tyre wasn’t fitted correctly. Quick reactions by the Spaniard meant that pit crew could still fix it. Bottas came in for his pit stop in lap nineteen, meaning that the Ferrari’s now had free air to continue on their softs. One lap later Hamilton came in, also opting for the medium tyres.
Marcus Ericsson, who had a great starting position, spun at high speed and returned to the pits. Not for a regular pit stop, but a retirement – the first of the race. A few laps later though Vettel overtook his teammate for sixth, but it didn’t last long as they were surprisingly told to switch places.
Photo curtesy of Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool.
Disaster struck for Verstappen as Esteban Ocon tried to overtake the Red Bull, but took the inside and touched Verstappen. He spun, but could continue the race (after he showed the Frenchman the middle finger of course). Eventually the stewards decided that Ocon caused the collision, handing him a stop/go penalty for crashing into the race leader.
Ricciardo and Vettel had locked horns but the Australian wouldn’t give up that easily and kept his fifth place. A few laps later Ricciardo passed Bottas for fourth place. With 17 laps to go, Vettel took his second pit stop and opted for the supersofts. This dropped him back to seventh place behind his future teammate Leclerc.
However, it would be the victory for the 2018 World Champion. Mercedes, after winning the Drivers’ Championship with Hamilton, now also have the 2018 Constructors Championship. Verstappen took second place (arguably he should have placed higher) and Räikkönen completed the podium, keeping Ricciardo at bay.
Verstappen, responding to Horner’s disbelieve: “Yeah I know what to say, I really hope I won’t see him in the pits…” with a lot of censoring needed. And as it would have it, the two did meet with Verstappen pushing Ocon three times in a widely broadcast standoff.
After some drama, it is time to look towards the last race of the season. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could result in some drivers taking big risks for the win. It will be Alonso’s final race in F1; he’ll be hoping to step away from F1 with a good result. In short, it should be a good one.
Haas F1 has lost its appeal against Romain Grosjean’s disqualification from September’s Italian Grand Prix.
Haas F1 Media
Grosjean was excluded from the results of the Monza race, which he originally finished in sixth, following a protest by the rival Renault team over the legality of his VF-18’s floor.
Haas had developed its floor earlier in the year for introduction following the summer break, but a technical clarification from the FIA made just before the summer break—demanding a 50mm radius at each front corner of the reference plane—made the floor design illegal.
With the summer shutdown leaving no time to modify the design, Haas initially applied to the FIA for dispensation to run the new floor until Singapore. However, the FIA offered no official ruling on the matter and made it clear to Haas that their car would be open to protest in Monza if it ran the illegal floor.
This open discussion for leeway formed the basis of Haas’ appeal against Grosjean’s exclusion, but on Thursday the FIA appeals court in Paris decided to uphold the Monza stewards’ decision.
Haas F1 Media
Haas team principal Gunther Steiner said the team was “obviously disappointed” to lose its appeal.
He added: “We [will] simply move forward and look to the final two races of the year to continue to fight on-track, earn more points, and conclude our strongest season to date.”
Renault’s technical director Nick Chester said: “We are satisfied with the decision and I would like to thank the court and the FIA for their work on this matter. Technical regulations—especially those introduced for safety reasons—must be observed strictly.”
We’re in the final stages of the 2018 season, and as F1 entered round 19 of the calendar for the Mexican Grand Prix, another chance emerged for Lewis Hamilton to become a five-time world champion, with his rival Sebastian Vettel 70 points behind and just three races to go.
Qualifying was once again very close, with Daniel Ricciardo stealing pole from team-mate Max Verstappen by just 0.026 seconds. Behind them, it was close as well, with Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen making up a very interesting grid.
On Sunday, Hamilton got an amazing start and got past pole-sitter Ricciardo, but didn’t quite manage to get past Verstappen. Ricciardo dropped to third, with Vettel and Bottas still in fourth and fifth.
It took only five laps before the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was brought out, after Fernando Alonso pulled over having had his car damaged by some flying debris from Esteban Ocon at the start.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Hamilton started losing time to Verstappen once the green flag was shown, allowing Ricciardo to close to within DRS range by lap eleven, although he wasn’t quite close enough to attempt an overtake.
On lap twelve, Hamilton came in for his first pit stop along with Bottas just seconds after, and Ricciardo and Verstappen pitting on successive laps, all opting for the supersofts. On lap fifteen, Verstappen used his DRS to overtake Raikkonen, the winner of last week’s United States Grand Prix
With Raikkonen’s tyres fading, he dropped into the clutches of Hamilton and Ricciardo, with the former pulling off an overtake in turns two and three.
On lap eighteen both Vettel and Raikkonen finally made their pit stops, switching onto the supersofts and making Verstappen race leader once again, this time by a margin of eight seconds.
A second Virtual Safety Car was brought out on lap 32, with Carlos Sainz having parked his Renault at the side of the track. When the green flag was shown once more Vettel saw a chance to get past Ricciardo and, on lap 34, he finally overtook the Australian and set about closing the gap to Hamilton. By lap 38 he was within a second, and the following lap he overtook his rival on the main straight.
He now had a thirteen second gap to Verstappen he needed to close down, but more interesting was the fact that Hamilton was losing almost a second per lap to Ricciardo. The Brit would still become World Champion even if he got overtaken, but that wouldn’t be in style as he was now at risk of losing a podium place.
2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm
In an attempt to overtake Hamilton, Ricciardo tried the move on the main straight but Hamilton braked way too late and overshot the first corner, going across the grass. Unsurprisingly, he pitted at the end of the lap for a set of used ultrasofts.
With 22 laps to go, both Vettel and Verstappen pitted. Vettel went to the ultrasofts, whilst Verstappen opted for a new set of supersofts. This promoted Ricciardo into second place but, with him being on older tyres, Vettel soon closed the gap again.
On lap 62 Vettel’s job was made a lot easier when Ricciardo once again retired due to an engine problem. The Virtual Safety Car was called out for the third time, and Bottas took the opportunity to pit.
After 71 laps it was an outstanding drive from Max Verstappen, who took the chequered flag and claimed his fifth win in F1. Following him home were the two Ferraris of Vettel and Raikkonen.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen’s victory, however, was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place, which was enough for him to be crowned the 2018 Formula One World Champion. He gave the crowd a bit of a show by doing some doughnuts in the stadium section of the track. Even Will Smith left a radio message for him, and Vettel showed his sportsmanship by congratulating his rival.
There are still two races left of the season to go. Sure, the tension of the championship is now over, but that doesn’t mean the upcoming races will be any less interesting. The Brazilian Grand Prix is up next, which always makes for a great race, especially as the weather gods always play their part there. But, for now, the party mode can be turned on at Mercedes.
Featured image: 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington
The United States Grand Prix had the potential to see the crowning of a five-time world champion. Taking place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, F1 entered the eighteenth round of the 2018 season with a 67-point difference between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
With only three races left after this one, it would need a miracle for Vettel to overturn that gap and take his fifth world championship. A win for Hamilton in the US Grand Prix meant that Vettel couldn’t afford to finish third or below, as this would extend the gap to over 75 points and hand the championship to Hamilton. Did the (American) dream end here for Vettel?
In qualifying it was a heated battle up front. Lewis Hamiltom claimed pole, with only seven hundredths of a second covering the top three. Behind him were Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas, with Vettel being demoted to fifth because of a penalty he was given after free practice for failing to slow down sufficiently under a red flag.
One notable name missing from that top ten was Max Verstappen. He set a fast lap in Q1 and advanced to Q2, but broke the rear suspension of the car after he hit a sausage kerb. Red Bull didn’t have enough time to fix the car, and he didn’t set a time. To add insult to injury, Red Bull had to change his gearbox, leaving him with a grid penalty and an eighteenth place starting slot.
Once the lights went out, Räikkönen made a great start and overtook Hamilton on the inside going into turn one, with mayhem breaking out behind them. Vettel tried to overtake Ricciardo, but crashed into the Australian and spun. He rejoined in fourteenth place, behind Vandoorne. He made up some places very quickly, but he still was twenty-two seconds behind his teammate, who was leading the race.
Verstappen was already in seventh place after five laps and was closing on his team-mate, when Ricciardo once again suffered an engine issue and had to come to a stop at the side of the track.
The parked Red Bull brought out the Virtual Safety Car, with Mercedes calling Hamilton in to change from the supersofts onto the softs. He re-emerged in third place, eight seconds behind Raikkonen.
Valtteri Bottas was asked on lap fourteen to let Hamilton through, and Hamilton set about closing the gap to the race leader, who was on the ultrasofts, and eventually catching up on lap nineteen. The Mercedes made it to within DRS range, but couldn’t get past. After defending all the way through sector three, Raikkonen came into the pits and changed onto the softs.
A strange call from the Ferrari team came on lap twenty-five, when Vettel was asked to let his teammate go by. He was then overtaken by Verstappen before he had the chance to go into the pits, and dropped out of the podium positions. By the halfway mark of the race he was 43 seconds behind race-leader Hamilton and in fifth place.
Hamilton started to struggle due to blisters on the rear tyres, allowing Vettel to close the gap back to less than thirty seconds. On lap 37 it became clear Hamilton wouldn’t be able to make it to the end, and he came in for another pit stop. He re-emerged in fourth place, ahead of Vettel and with Raikkonen still leading.
For the second time in the race, Bottas was asked to let Hamilton by, with his team-mate on the fresher tyres and charging his way back up. By lap 45 the top three were very close, with two seconds separating Raikkonen and Vertappen, and another three second gap to Hamilton in third.
By lap fifty Vettel was within DRS range of Bottas in fourth, with the top three now separated by just two and a half seconds. With Vettel where he was, Hamilton needed to finish in second, and that meant getting past Verstappen.
On lap 53, Verstappen made a slight error and gave Hamilton the opportunity to overtake. Verstappen defended and didn’t give the Brit any space, with Hamilton running wide and losing time.
Two laps later, Vettel overtook Bottas for fourth place, meaning that the chance for Hamilton to win the championship this race was gone
After 113 races, Räikkönen finally got another victory. It may certainly be his last for Ferrari, but it was probably one of his best. Verstappen finished in second having started from 18th, a performance which resulted in him deservedly winning Driver of the Day. Behind them, Hamilton finished in third and Vettel in fourth, with Bottas, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Ocon, Magnussen and Perez completing the top ten.
With three races to go, the gap between Hamilton and Vettel is now 70 points. Vettel needs a miracle to happen if he wants to become five-time world champion, whilst Hamilton just needs to defend his major points advantage.
Up next is the Mexican Grand Prix – will Hamilton be crowned five-time world champion there?
Early in the morning for most Europeans, Formula One returned to the legendary Suzuka circuit for round seventeen of the 2018 season.
Lewis Hamilton started on pole once again, the 80th time he has done so in his career. Title rival Sebastian Vettel started from a lowly ninth place after a gamble on the intermediate tyres at the start of Q3 meant they lost precious time on track when it was dry. When the rain then started to fall near the end of Q3, Vettel couldn’t improve and made several mistakes in the slippery conditions. Bottas started behind Hamilton in P2, with a very surprised but happy Verstappen in third. On the other side of the Red Bull garage there was drama as Ricciardo once again had issues with the engine, keeping the car inside the garage in Q2 and resigning him to a 15th place start.
The race started under clear blue skies, and immediately Vettel began to make up for his poor qualifying by charging to sixth place after just two turns, and fifth place by the end of the first lap. Verstappen had a good start, but at the end of the first lap he locked up his brakes entering the final chicane, pushing the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen off the track as he rejoined. The incident was investigated, and Verstappen was given a five-second penalty for “leaving the track and returning unsafely”.
2018 Japanese Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm
After a brief Virtual Safety Car, deployed because of debris on the track after a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc, Vettel moved up to fourth place and turned his attention to getting past Verstappen for third. He made an overtaking attempt going into Spoon Corner but, in trying to go through on the inside of Verstappen, the two made contact, with Vettel spinning and dropping down to 19th.
Verstappen survived relatively unscathed, and came into the pits on lap twenty-two to serve his five-second penalty and change onto the soft tyres. Valtteri Bottas made his pit stop the lap afterwards, and switched onto the medium tyres.
By lap 34, Vettel had fought his way back into the top ten, and overtook Grosjean going into Spoon – this time cleanly – to take seventh place.
After another Virtual Safety Car, this time for the stranded car of Charles Leclerc, Verstappen made an effort to get past Valtteri Bottas for P2. Despite Bottas making an error going into the last chicane and struggling with a blister on his rear tyres, he managed to hold on.
After fifty-three laps it was a dominant victory for Lewis Hamilton, once again extending his championship lead as Vettel disappointed with an eventual sixth place. Bottas and Verstappen completed the podium, with Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Vettel, Perez, Grosjean, Ocon and Sainz rounding out the top ten. Driver of the Day could only go to Daniel Ricciardo, who finished in fourth after starting from fifteenth.
2018 Japanese Grand Prix, Sunday – Paul Ripke
In the drivers’ championship, Hamilton now leads Vettel by 67 points with only four races to go. Next up is the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in two weeks time. If Hamilton outscores Vettel by eight points or more in that race, Hamilton will win the championship.
After the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago, which signaled the end of the European races for this season, Formula One headed to Asia for round fifteen of 2018, the Singapore Grand Prix. One of the most demanding tracks of the calendar for both drivers and cars due to high humidity, the Marina Bay Street Circuit covers 5.067 kilometres, with twenty-three turns and a race distance of sixty-one laps.
Going into qualifying it had looked as if things would be close at the front, but an outstanding lap from Lewis Hamilton saw him grab pole position by three tenths of a second from Max Verstappen. Vettel ended up third on the grid, six tenths behind his championship rival. Behind him, Bottas, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Perez, Grosjean, Ocon, and Hulkenberg completed the top ten.
The five red lights counted down to the start, and what a start it was for Hamilton. In typical Singapore style the safety car was brought out, this year after just seven corners due to Ocon and Perez colliding with each other, putting the Frenchman in the wall.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday- Wolfgang Wilhelm
Vettel attempted an overtake on Verstappen for second place, which succeeded just before the safety car was called out. It seemed like Vettel had learned from his crash with Hamilton in Monza as he didn’t go for the overtake straight away at turn one, despite having had a much better start than Verstappen.
The restart on lap five saw Hamilton driving away from Vettel whilst Bottas closed in on Verstappen, however a lock up meant the Finn then lost the same amount of time he had gained.
Reports of some wear on the hypersoft tyres started coming in from lap twelve onwards. Ferrari reported this to Vettel as well, who was now losing some time to Hamilton. The German made his first pit stop on lap fourteen, changing to the ultrasoft tyre. Getting stuck behind traffic, this early stop cost him some major time. Mercedes responded to this pit stop by bringing in Hamilton, who opted for the soft tyres.
The end of lap sixteen saw Verstappen leading the race ahead of Bottas, who made his pit stop on lap seventeen. Vettel, meanwhile, overtook Perez and set about closing the gap to Hamilton. Verstappen then made his pit stop and went to the softs. It was very close at the pit exit with Vettel, but Verstappen came out ahead to claim a net second place.
Vettel reported to his team that he wouldn’t make it to the end of the race on the ultrasoft tyres, a real blow for Ferrari who really had to win this race to keep their hopes for the championship alive.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix – Sebastian Vettel
Race leader Räikkönen went into the pits on lap twenty-three, dropping back to fifth place. It seemed Ferrari had taken note of Vettel’s worries, as they put Raikkonen on fresh soft tyres.
After a staggering twenty-seven laps on the hypersoft tyres Ricciardo finally made his pit stop, opting for the ultrasofts and dropping back behind Raikkonen. With the better tyre and more than half distance still to go, he still had enough time to close the gap.
Sergio Perez had dropped down the order, getting stuck behind Sergey Sirotkin and becoming increasingly frustrated, even complaining that Charlie Whiting had to do something. The Mexican’s patience ran out on lap thirty-four when he tried overtaking Sirotkin but ended up crashing into him, looking and steering to the left and raising questions about whether it had been done deliberately. Perez as a result had to gp back into the pits for repair. The stewards looked into the incident and decided that he had caused a collision, handing him a drive-through.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday- Steve Etherington
Up front, Hamilton was still leading from Verstappen who was carving his way through all the traffic. In front of them was a trio of backmarkers – Grosjean, Gasly, and Sirotkin – fighting for P14. Hamilton was held up as a result, allowing Verstappen to close to within a second. Both drivers expressed their frustration over the radio, describing the backmarkers as “crazy”. Once they cleared them, though, Hamilton opened the gap back up to three seconds, and Grosjean was handed a five-second penalty for ignoring blue flags.
A big surprise came on lap forty-six when Alonso put up the fastest lap time of the race and broke the lap record. That surprise was then doubled when Kevin Magnussen in eighteenth place then broke that record as well.
After sixty-one long laps it was Lewis Hamilton who claimed victory, winning his forty-fourth race from pole position and extending his championship lead. Verstappen took an impressive second place, deservedly resulting in him being voted driver of the day. Vettel was disappointed as once more he lost points to Hamilton in the championship, taking third place. Completing the top ten were Bottas, Räikkönen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Sainz, Leclerc and Hulkenberg.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday- Steve Etherington
It was not the most spectacular Singapore Grand Prix we have ever seen, but it still had some interesting moments. For the teams, focus now turns to the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom, with Hamilton leading the championship by forty points.
There are still six races to go though, and lots can happen. As always in F1, nothing is certain.
The 2018 driver market has been both kind and cruel to F1’s young drivers. On the one hand, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris have all secured dream promotions to Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren respectively.
But on the other hand, Esteban Ocon and Stoffel Vandoorne have both found their F1 careers on the rocks thanks to silly season developments, while rising stars like George Russell struggle to find any space on the grid.
As the final 2019 deals begin to fall into place, we look at which young drivers might yet find seats for Melbourne next year.
Antonio Giovinazzi
Ferrari Media
Despite becoming Italy’s first F1 driver in six years when he deputised for Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber last year, Antonio Giovinazzi has been unable to add to his two starts since being leapfrogged in Ferrari’s junior scheme by Charles Leclerc.
But with Leclerc moving from Sauber to Ferrari, Giovinazzi might finally get his shot at a full-time race seat. If Ferrari’s right to nominate one of Sauber’s drivers is to be believed, then Giovinazzi could be just an executive decision at Maranello away from joining the Swiss team’s lineup for next year.
Stoffel Vandoorne
Glenn Dunbar / McLaren Media
If Ferrari does insist on Sauber taking Giovinazzi, that will put pay to one of Stoffel Vandoorne’s best post-McLaren options.
Should Sauber be off the table, Vandoorne’s only real hope for 2019 is Toro Rosso. Honda is reportedly keen to bring Vandoorne into Toro Rosso having valued his feedback during their partnership with McLaren.
But even with Honda behind him, Vandoorne will have his work cut out convincing Helmut Marko that he has more potential than was shown in his two years with McLaren.
Pascal Wehrlein
Sauber F1 Team
Another potential obstacle in Vandoorne’s route to Toro Rosso is Pascal Wehrlein. The former Manor and Sauber driver is leaving the Mercedes family at the end of the year in a bid to open up more opportunities on the F1 grid, and is said to have a big fan in Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost.
It’s not the first time Wehrlein has been linked with Toro Rosso—he was touted as a potential mid-season replacement for Brendon Hartley earlier in the year. Those rumours may have come to nothing, but Wehrlein’s sudden appearance as a free agent in the driver market will surely give Red Bull and Toro Rosso something to consider.
Esteban Ocon
Racing Point Force India F1 Team
The details of Esteban Ocon’s plight to remain in F1 next year hardly need repeating by now. Currently his best chance of a 2019 race seat involves either Mercedes pressing customer team Williams to pick him over a more well-funded alternative, or breaking free from the Mercedes camp as Wehrlein has done and hoping that leads to a shot with Haas or Toro Rosso.
If neither avenue comes to fruition, then we’ll likely see Ocon take up a third driver role with the works Mercedes team—possibly dovetailing that with outings for the marque’s HWA-run Formula E team—before aiming to replace Valtteri Bottas in 2020.
Outside F1
Renault Sport F1 Team
If current drivers like Ocon and Vandoorne are struggling to stay in F1 next year, it’s doubtful anyone from the junior formulae will find space on the 2019 grid.
As the Formula 2 championship leader, Mercedes junior George Russell should be the best placed young driver to make the step up to F1. However, his position behind Ocon in the Mercedes hierarchy means that it’s unlikely he’ll be allowed to overtake the Frenchman and take an F1 drive at his expense.
On the other hand, F2 stalwart Artem Markelov may yet get his F1 break after five years in the feeder series. His Russian Time backing has seen him linked to Williams in recent weeks, and an FP1 run with Renault in Sochi will be the perfect chance to make his case when it counts.
Formula 3 title leader Dan Ticktum was being queued up to join Toro Rosso for next year, until the FIA pointed out that he was ineligible for a Super License. Ticktum will likely move to F2 for next year to complete his Super License, before stepping up to Toro Rosso in 2020.
