F1 2018: Hamilton showed his class, Fetel self-destructive

Luis Hamilton defended the throne and won the fifth title with Juan Manuel Faggio, but despite the impressive Mercedes races, Ferrari was still crucial.

After announcing last season that he was going to challenge Mercedes, Ferrari has entered a new car with a worthy challenge, but what they have not managed to match with their rival, is that they have not been able to compete. is a team battle.

While at Mercedes, the hierarchy was clear, Ferrari did not support its title candidate at crucial moments, and it cost them another unsuccessful season.

The threat

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Ferrari opens the season greatly, Fetel uses Mercedes' mistake during a boxing trip at the "seafi-kara" on the track and triumphs in front of Hamilton, then is celebrated in Bahrain from the start. a half position that opens a titanic business.

The German was the fastest in qualifying for the next two races, but he could not take advantage of it. In China, Ferstapen throws him off the track and only comes eight minutes, while in Baku he commits the first of many mistakes of the season in place of second place instead of fourth place.

Hamilton is victorious, triumphing mainly in Spain and half. The shortest period of the season, the alternating victories of Ricardo, Fetel, Hamilton and Ferstapen of Monaco, by Canada, France and Austria in the United Kingdom, followed.

During this period, we saw five changes in the overall ranking. After Silverstone, where Hamilton fell midway to 18th because of contact with Raikkonen, Fetel still had eight points.

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The grand prize of Germany and Hockenheim followed. Fetel reaches pole position in his field, he regularly ranks at the 52nd circle, then leaves the course.

The "seafi-kar" is out, everyone changes tires, with the exception of Hamilton, who chose a riskier tactic for the start of 14th place, which probably brings him the key triumph of season.

Not only has it gone from +8 to +17, but its dominant race series and six wins in the next seven almost perfect performances, while Fetel and Ferrari are entering its "twilight zone" marked by many mistakes.

Hamilton won nine of the 14 races played in Azerbaijan until the end of the season, while Fetel had only three celebrations at that time.

The British showed character when it was a problem (Hockenheim and Silverston) and an impressive skill in rainy conditions (the Singapore and Hungary qualifications) , which allowed him to dominate from Baku to Suzuka.

He has been brilliant throughout the season, so he visited Raikkonen to win at Monza and Fetel in Sochi, 18th at Silverstone, and is ranked second at Silverstone. At the beginning of the season, he was always looking for a real pace. the ninth position on the podium in Bahrain.

Hamilton had a good year.

Mistakes

They particularly influenced the performance of Fetel in the second half of the season, but the German himself was destroyed in almost the third race and the Azerbaijanis of the VN.

In Baku, the wheels were blocked due to excessive braking and went from first to fourth place. In France, he hit Botas in the first team and Japan, then the United States, because of risky attempts to overtake Red Bull, he ended up turning on the track.

In Austria and the United States, he was sentenced to sanctions which cost him a very large number of points during the following season.

However, the key weekend was probably Monca. Ferrari had a faster Mercedes-Benz car in qualifying, but instead of supporting its drivers in the overall standings, they allowed Raikkonen to follow Fetel and win a half-position.

And then, they officially executed the "suicide" and took out the manual at the fastest speed. Instead of explaining to Finn that he should miss the German at the start of the race and help him win, they told him that he would fire him at the end of the race. the season.

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Logically, Raikkonen did not really want to help Fetel, so Hamilton was already in the second shikani, then the British won in his best race of the season after finishing the last tire in Finland.

Hamilton will also celebrate the next race in Singapore, and the exact season is likely to put Sochi, where Mercedes showed Ferrari respect for the champion's leader. Despite the domination of the Botas on the Black Sea, the Finns leave the victory to the British who "flee" Fetel 50 points difference.

After a new triumph in Japan, winning the title was more than a formality. That happened in Mexico, where the fifth crown came in fourth place.

Impressive Hamilton season sealed with wins in the last two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi

Other

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Red Bull has sometimes managed to get involved in the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari. Ricardo and Ferstapen thus celebrated their victory twice in races where the power of the aggregate is not decisive and at the time when the pilots are subjected to the opportunism to control their tactics.

Both of them delighted the world with spectacular fights on the streets of Bakua, which ultimately cost them to be placed.

With two wins in the first six rounds, Ricardo proved that he could be involved in the fight for the top but his car, specifically, the Reno aggregate were betrayed too often (eight retreats).

Ferstapen, after a sloppy start to the season, shone in the seventh race and Canada has also earned more points than the two Ferrari drivers despite having a weaker car.

If Honda brought Red Bull what Reno could not, we could have a new competitor for the title next year.

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Unfortunately, this season was Fernand Alons' last in the F1 caravan. One of the best drivers in the last 15 years has withdrawn from the competition, perhaps even too much in the light of previous results.

However, since 2012, he was not even close to a guy who scored eight of the five titles in points, and the move from Ferrari to McLaren 2014 failed to do it. to live again, from elsewhere.

The desperate car was reversed by him and, despite all his shortcomings, he won 32 points in the first five races, only five less than Ferstapen. However, even his impressive skills could not make up for all McLaren's flaws.

Zauber was the most advanced of all the teams in the "second plane", Honda showed the first signs of progress, while the F1 giant, McLaren and Williams, had another year to forget.

What is waiting for us 2019?

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In total, it was possible to enjoy F1 this year, there were great races, fierce clashes, some to forget like the conflict of Ferstapen and Okon in Brazil.

Finally, for the first time in the history of F1, all regular drivers have behaved in all races and for the first time in the history of the competition, each driver who has it made earned at least one point.

The following season begins March 17 in Melbourne, where we will see, among other things, the debut of Daniel Ricardo at Renova and the return of Kimmy Raikkonen to Zauber, where he began his career in F1 in 2001.

However, in the foreground, there will be a return to F1, Robert Kubica, eight years after an almost fatal accident in a rally in which it was difficult to compare his left hand.