Which of the four times WDC is going to reach 5 WDC first?

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Originally Posted by Bezza

2017 and 2018 have confirmed Hamilton is a F1 legend. And it has also confirmed a suspicion I always had - that Vettel is over-rated, can't handle pressure and needs a complete bubble of support to succeed.

It is sad to me that Fernando Alonso was so bad at managing his career, when he should still be in the Ferrari and we would be having an absolute battle royale for the 2018 championship between, without question, the best two drivers in F1.

As for Vettel, you have to think how good he actually is and how much his early career was helped by Red Bull choosing him over Webber.

2009 - Vettel and Webber closely matched.
2010 - Vettel and Webber both compete for title. Vettel is quicker overall but makes more mistakes. Crucially, the collide in Turkey. It is Vettel's fault - but Red Bull blame Webber... Webber should have quit at end of 2010.
2011. Vettel has now negotiated Driver One status. The Red Bull is way beyond any other car on the grid. Easy for Vettel regardless of ability. Nevertheless, spins off from the lead in Canada on the last lap under pressure from Button.
2012. Alonso has the 4th best car on the grid and almost wins the title. Indeed, he should have, without bad luck from start-line accidents. Vettel wins with the fastest car, despite mistakes in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, his car survives. Most undeserving championship I can recall.
2013. The Red Bull is quickest but other cars in the mix until Pirelli make a mess (as usual) and then change the tyres, which favours Red Bull and hands Vettel a 4th title.
2014. Ricciardo comes and outpaces Vettel comfortably........winning three races to Vettel's zero.
2015. Vettel at Ferrari now, and has chosen Raikkonen as Number Two, who was annihilated by Alonso in 2014. Wins three races.
2016. No wins and barely beats Raikkonen in the championship despite generally being quicker.
2017. Has a car capable of winning the championship. Makes mistakes at key times and in key battles. Loses championship to Hamilton,
2018. Has an ever better car capable of winning the championship. Makes even more mistakes and in key battles. Loses championship to Hamilton AGAIN.

If Ferrari want to win the Championship, they need to get rid of Vettel. HE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Looking forward to seeing Leclerc, but if I was Ferrari I'd be on the phone to two people who have beaten / matched Lewis Hamilton:

Fernando Alonso
Nico Rosberg

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I think you're pretty harsh on Vettel. He's made some errors that have been costly this year. But in hindsight, it wouldn't have mattered as MB is still clearly the best car in the field.

I don't know what her did that was so bad last year? He had a great season, it's just the MB is better.

Ricciardo was better than him in 14, but that's a credit to Ricciardo rather than a clear demonstration of how inferior Vettel is.

You look throughout his career, whenever Vettel's down, he comes back up. In 10, he just got away with all the errors to win the championship, but then he blitzed everyone the following year. 0 wins and beaten in 14, 3 wins and threatening Rosberg for 2nd in 15. 0 wins in 16, championship challenger in 17.


We're expecting similar levels of performance from Ferrari and MB next year? Don't be surprised if Vettel rejuvenates, learns from this year, and really makes the title a close race and establishes himself as an elite F1 driver.

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Originally Posted by journeyman racer

I think you're pretty harsh on Vettel. He's made some errors that have been costly this year. But in hindsight, it wouldn't have mattered as MB is still clearly the best car in the field.

I don't know what her did that was so bad last year? He had a great season, it's just the MB is better.

Ricciardo was better than him in 14, but that's a credit to Ricciardo rather than a clear demonstration of how inferior Vettel is.

You look throughout his career, whenever Vettel's down, he comes back up. In 10, he just got away with all the errors to win the championship, but then he blitzed everyone the following year. 0 wins and beaten in 14, 3 wins and threatening Rosberg for 2nd in 15. 0 wins in 16, championship challenger in 17.


We're expecting similar levels of performance from Ferrari and MB next year? Don't be surprised if Vettel rejuvenates, learns from this year, and really makes the title a close race and establishes himself as an elite F1 driver.

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Tbh, Vettel is not going to win any championship with Ferrari if they do not sort out their operational efficiency. When there are operational errors and pressure to win, the team environment becomes self defeating. Consequently drivers begin to make lots of mistakes as well. It would be a mistake to underate Vettel based on a year that demanded flawless excellence to have a chance of winning one or both of the championships. Especially going against the current best driver and team combination in Lewis Hamilton and Petronas Mercedes.

This monumental combination required meticulous preparation for each race weekend coupled with flawless operational execution at each race. If there is anything to be learnt from 2018, it is that Ferrari is not ready to be constructors world champions. Having a great car and a brilliant racer such as Vettel is half the job done. I think Vettel in the Ferrari car with the Mercedes team running the operations would have won the title. But that says alot about how good Hamilton is, to be on the verge of closing the championship with four races to go in a Mercedes that was just ahead of the Redbull for most of the first half of the season.

When Mercedes found their mojo, they instantly became untouchable such that most people forget how frustratingly slower than the Ferrari the Mercedes was. We forget that Vettel was favorite to win this championship even when Hamilton caught up in the points. Hence this championship was lost by Ferrari rather than being squarely beaten by Mercedes.

Mercedes and Hamilton did the rubber dub, soaking up the punches in the first half. And started to throw some of their own in the second half. Hence l agree with your assessment of the situation.

I would say Ferrari had the better car in the first part of the season. I think the Death of Sergio Marchionne has affected the team without a doubt. In Hungary, a race should have been theirs, they lost. They retaliated in Spa, but since then Hamilton appears to have raised his game and I don’t know if Ferrari faltered or did Mercedes just out fox them at every turn. It had been pretty strange turn of form. It was probably a mixture but that big upgrade Ferrari brought to Signapore didn’t seem to work as well as it should. Ferrari messed up qualifying in Japan and Monza. The upgrade Mercedes brought to Singapore (I think it was) for tire management seems to have sorted their tire management issues and that gave Mercedes the opportunity to be more aggressive on set up. All small things but I am surprised at the Ferrari and the way they have faltered in the second half of the season, yet again.

Having given it some considerable thought. I think Hamilton will be the first to 5 wdc.

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Originally Posted by journeyman racer

Having given it some considerable thought. I think Hamilton will be the first to 5 wdc.

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That is such a good point that I think so , too .

Mercedes leads Ferrari by merely 66 points with a possible max of 129 points still on the table. With the pace shown by Ferrari at Texas, it is looking very possible for Ferrari to sneak up on Mercedes and steal the Constructors title. The real fight of the rest of the season is the fight for the constructors title which is very much undecided but Mercedes have a lead which is by no means comfortable.

Ferrari has turned up to the US GP with what was revealed to be their pre-singapore chassis which gave Mercedes such headache in the first half of the season, and have resumed their dominant form. Some have suggested that Ferrari has lost ground because they turned away from this chassis chasing new developments that has not worked. Hence there is some rumours that if they had stayed with this chassis that won the US GP, they would have dominated both title fights. It would seem Vettel has suffered the most from this.

Whatever the case, Ferrari has found its way again and seem well placed to cause serious headache to Mercedes as the fight for the constructors title takes a new vigorous turn heading to Mexico. Ferrari would need at least 1st and 2nd place finishes over the next three races to be quite sure that the constructors title is theirs. If Hamilton finishes third in all of those races, he would comfortably be the 2018 drivers world champion.

The reds were back on form , but Merc filled the holes in their trick new wheel design with silicone before racing them , apparently , so some of their aero was missing , leading to , eventually , blisters .
Had they not done so , protest and possible DSQ could have taken the race away entirely .

CONGRATULATION LEWIS !

LEWIS HAMILTON - 2018 DRIVER WORLD CHAMPION

5 TIMES WORLD CHAMPION and modern day F1 legend

I suppose the next question is, has Hamilton got two more championships in him to match the great Michael Schumacher. As 2018 got better than 2017, l am expecting 2019 to be even better than this season. Redbull and Honda is looking like a divine union that could really upset the order of the sharp end of the grid. Ferrari have learnt some very hard lessons this season. Hence, l expect them to turn up next season more determined and prepared than ever to set things straight.

But Mercedes also had some hard lessons of their own to learn. They have won the drivers title with a car that was marginally good enough to win the drivers title and largely because they had the best driver on the grid in it. Often it had looked embarrassingly slower than the competition. This 2018 Mexico GP was the first time in ages that a Mercedes was lapped. Hence, it is safe to say, the chassis architecture for 2018 car is spent and belongs in the past, they need to find a new platform fast and one that is more agreeable with the 2019 rules. The luck that came their way this year may not be available next year, hence it is likely to be even more harder next year to keep the Ferrari and Redbulls behind. But l have every faith that Mercedes would do what it takes to stay ahead.

Vettel is truly classy in defeat. Not many drivers in his circumstances would go out their way to congratulate the winning team personally. I have been a fan of his and he just won my utmost respect.