Lewis Hamilton needed to win to clinch before the next race in Mexico. He didn’t. Ferrari lurks.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. All last week, people were praising Mercedes and dismissing Ferrari – putting the Prancing Horse down – talking as if the 2018 season was a foregone conclusion; but that talk didn’t fit the reality of Formula One. It was a bad week for Mercedes, but nonetheless Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport got 25 points in a thrilling race in the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas yesterday.
Presumptive World Champion Lewis Hamilton came home in P3, racing to the 15th podium for Mercedes-Benz Power. It would be Hamilton’s fifth World Championship title – he needed to win to clinch before the next race in Mexico, with two more races remaining after that. If he hangs on in Mexico and Ferrari’s Sebastián Vettle has another fateful outing as he did yesterday, then he can join Juan Manuel Fangio with five titles.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas finished Austin in P5, securing ten points for the Constructors’ Championship. As it stands now: Lewis Hamilton (346 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 70 points from Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari (276 points) with Mercedes’ Valtteri (217 points) in P4 with 75 points left to be scored in the season. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (563 points) lead Ferrari (497 points) by 66 points in the Constructors’ Championship with 129 points remaining to be scored in the 2018 season
“Naturally, I’m a bit disappointed in our performance, to have started first but finished third, but I’m still grateful that I managed to finish up ahead of Seb,” said Hamilton. “When you don’t have Friday practice you don’t get to work on the set-up and get the optimum out of the car. Everyone was in the same boat, but I think ultimately Ferrari came closer to us with the changes they made. In the race, we were lacking pace on the straights, but I gave it everything. I was still pushing like crazy and that’s what racing is all about. I had one little chance at the end, but I had to give Max a lot of space because it’s better to finish third than get taken out by someone who’s not fighting for the championship, so I didn’t want to take that risk. We were going for the win today, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’re going to Mexico next; it’s such a beautiful place, but I haven’t always had the best results there, so I definitely want to win that race.”
Valtteri Bottas said, “We knew going into the race that it was going to be a difficult afternoon. The Ferrari looked very quick yesterday and there were a lot of question marks because of the limited running in the dry, so making predictions on the set-up and the tires was very tricky. We didn’t quite have the pace that we were hoping for, especially on the Soft tires. We had planned for a one-stop race and that’s what we did, but in hindsight the second stint was just a little bit too long. My tires started to go three or four laps before the Sebastian overtook me and they were just completely gone in the end, that’s why he managed to build such a big gap in only a few laps. But we couldn’t work the two-stop work with Lewis either, so overall, we were just lacking pace today. We will now do our usual work of analyzing and understanding why we weren’t quicker today …, There are only three more races left in the season and the fight is far from over, so we will give it everything to get the best results possible.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Daimler Takes Lead in F1 Driver and Maker’s Championship
Lewis Hamilton needed to win to clinch before the next race in Mexico. He didn’t. Ferrari lurks.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. All last week, people were praising Mercedes and dismissing Ferrari – putting the Prancing Horse down – talking as if the 2018 season was a foregone conclusion; but that talk didn’t fit the reality of Formula One. It was a bad week for Mercedes, but nonetheless Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport got 25 points in a thrilling race in the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas yesterday.
Presumptive World Champion Lewis Hamilton came home in P3, racing to the 15th podium for Mercedes-Benz Power. It would be Hamilton’s fifth World Championship title – he needed to win to clinch before the next race in Mexico, with two more races remaining after that. If he hangs on in Mexico and Ferrari’s Sebastián Vettle has another fateful outing as he did yesterday, then he can join Juan Manuel Fangio with five titles.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas finished Austin in P5, securing ten points for the Constructors’ Championship. As it stands now: Lewis Hamilton (346 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 70 points from Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari (276 points) with Mercedes’ Valtteri (217 points) in P4 with 75 points left to be scored in the season. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (563 points) lead Ferrari (497 points) by 66 points in the Constructors’ Championship with 129 points remaining to be scored in the 2018 season
“Naturally, I’m a bit disappointed in our performance, to have started first but finished third, but I’m still grateful that I managed to finish up ahead of Seb,” said Hamilton. “When you don’t have Friday practice you don’t get to work on the set-up and get the optimum out of the car. Everyone was in the same boat, but I think ultimately Ferrari came closer to us with the changes they made. In the race, we were lacking pace on the straights, but I gave it everything. I was still pushing like crazy and that’s what racing is all about. I had one little chance at the end, but I had to give Max a lot of space because it’s better to finish third than get taken out by someone who’s not fighting for the championship, so I didn’t want to take that risk. We were going for the win today, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’re going to Mexico next; it’s such a beautiful place, but I haven’t always had the best results there, so I definitely want to win that race.”
Valtteri Bottas said, “We knew going into the race that it was going to be a difficult afternoon. The Ferrari looked very quick yesterday and there were a lot of question marks because of the limited running in the dry, so making predictions on the set-up and the tires was very tricky. We didn’t quite have the pace that we were hoping for, especially on the Soft tires. We had planned for a one-stop race and that’s what we did, but in hindsight the second stint was just a little bit too long. My tires started to go three or four laps before the Sebastian overtook me and they were just completely gone in the end, that’s why he managed to build such a big gap in only a few laps. But we couldn’t work the two-stop work with Lewis either, so overall, we were just lacking pace today. We will now do our usual work of analyzing and understanding why we weren’t quicker today …, There are only three more races left in the season and the fight is far from over, so we will give it everything to get the best results possible.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.