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Lewis Hamilton is the champion of F1 champions
The best have improved in 2018. A fifth world champion title confirmed this F1 age as Lewis Hamilton's era. But 2018 was more than that for the Mercedes driver. Hamilton has set the pinnacle of his career and his best season for what is, historically, his most important championship.
Of the 800 or so drivers who participated in Formula 1, only 33 won a world championship. And of these 33, only 16 have become several world champions. The air is even rarer above the two and three-time world champions, reducing the list to five. And now, Hamilton has climbed even higher, joining the elite of the elite, a group that previously only counted Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio. It's a high status and golden.
Rightly, the fifth Hamilton Championship – the title instantly conferring the status of greatness – has not been an ordinary success. In the "five-fight" between the two winners of the title four times, Hamilton was the champions of champions, almost perfect against a rival whose year was marked by errors, reaching a career high by setting a record in career.
"You have to say that this year, Lewis made the difference for us," Mercedes F1's James Allison told Sky F1. In the end, it said it all.
Germany was the turning point
Ferrari's breakthrough in development with upgrades that were in fact degradations in Singapore, Russia and Japan was the last turning point in this year's championship battle.
But despite all the twists, turns and turn-arounds of the 2018 battle, the decisive moment of the year remained Sébastien's selfish DNF in Germany when he escaped his head. His most egregious mistake of the year was a succession of mistakes the downright expensive.
WATCH: Vettel crushes in Germany
2018 has not been tender with his reputation. Potentially caught between chasing Hamilton and his new teammate Charles Leclerc, 2019 will be an even tougher test.
The pre-season noise on the halo did not last long
Well, this one has been predicted. How many of us have stopped noticing the Halo in mid-season?
And, more precisely, how many critics were deafened after Spa and a crash that could have had disastrous consequences for Charles Leclerc without his presence?
Mercedes is the number one F1 – but for how long?
While 2018 ended with the familiarity of a fifth consecutive championship double for Mercedes, 2018 rarely felt familiar, especially in the first half. Ferrari frequently boasted the fastest package before the summer break and a higher speed in a straight line. And by the end of the year, the Red Bulls were generally present or pretty much.
It would be foolish and imprudent to suggest that Mercedes is anything but the favorite of 2019. The last 10 World F1 championships are currently taking place at Silver Arrows headquarters in Brackley. But the gap is widening, challenges are increasing and the impression that they are actually threatened next year seems well founded.
The future is promising …
And especially in 2019, young people.
There is Lando Norris, 19, at McLaren alongside Carlos Sainz, 24 years old. Red Bull will be even younger with the same inexperienced Pierre Gasly, 23, two years older than Max Verstappen. The Ferraris will be older, but with Charles Leclerc, 21, hired to replace Kimi Raikkonen, the Scuderia has finally released the chains to embrace youth.
Elsewhere, George Russell will make his debut at Williams one month after turning 21, while another rookie, Antonio Giovinazzi, 24, will team up with Raikkonen at Sauber, and Alex Albon will turn 22 at his debut for Toro Rosso in Australia.
The age of F1 youth has arrived.
F1 remains a thing of great beauty …
And the inherent danger …
A Friday training session. Midseason. A car at the back of the field, a driver coming out of the sport.
It should have been an ordinary day. But in F1, no day on the track is ordinary. Not really. Not when every moment is threatened by danger. Incredibly, Marcus Ericsson's 220 km / h drop in the second practice session meant all damage to the car and left none for a driver competing the next day.
WATCH: Ericsson escapes the GP of Italy
But the paradoxical double reminder was still present: how much the safety levels of F1 have climbed and, at the same time, the risks and dangers that await them.
F1 in 2019: calendar and driver alignment
Learn more about Sky Sports F1
The final clbadification of the F1 2018 championship
Danny Ric took a big bet
For the shock of the year, Daniel Ricciardo 's decision to let Red Bull to Renault was the undisputed champion. Will that prove another Hamilton-Mercedes master stroke? Or a misstep between Alonso and McLaren? Only time, and a lot of time, will tell.
The Australian has had a strange season. When he won at Monaco, Ricciardo looked like a title contender. And then his campaign suddenly collapsed, a year called Monte Carlo and bankruptcy, while his season was dissolved into a multitude of retreats and anguished frustrations, devoid of another podium.
A justification, in a way, for his decision to jump? Or an omen of more problems to come?
McLaren's healing journey is longer than expected
That should not have been worse for McLaren in 2018, but it was. exposed as much as armed With the same Renault engines, McLaren beat strongly throughout the season and was firmly defeated by Renault. She ridiculed the idea that the 2016 McLaren car was a leader, only braked by inadequate Honda engines.
They thought that they had a long way back. By 2018, McLaren's eyes were wide open on their retreat.
It can only be for Williams next year
During a year of relentless and relentless misery, only one glimmer of hope shone a thousand lights: it can only get worse in 2019 for a team that, even in the difficult times of the last year, never lost his pride or popularity. In George Russell and Robert Kubica, Williams has already had his strongest and most interesting line-up for many years. That means at least 2018 ends with a last glimmer of hope.
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