The Briton had to be at his best to shake off his Ferrari rival and seal fourth title; Force India and Max Verstappen showed mettle; changes needed in 2018Lewis Hamilton produced an exceptional performance to secure his fourth – and what he admitted was his most challenging and most rewarding – title. With competition from Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari that was at least on a par with the Mercedes and at certain circuits the better car, the British driver had to be at his best and successfully bring together every facet of his craft. Hamilton had to cope with a demanding car, struggling to find set-up and with the pressure of being behind until the 13th round. Major errors...
After two grands prix wins this season, the young and fearless Red Bull driver has shown the conviction to be challenging soon for the F1 world titleFor a young driver in his third season in Formula One and just out of his teens, it might seem an unfeasibly early time to be anointing Max Verstappen as a future world champion. Yet within hours of ensuring his own position among the greats with a fourth title, Lewis Hamilton singled out the 20-year-old as the future of F1. It was a champion’s endorsement of a champion in waiting, one who firmly believes he is ready to take over from the old guard. Related: Max Verstappen: ‘My biggest critic is my dad. Everything...
Spaniard won Monaco GP twice, made his Indy 500 debut and will compete in a prototype in 2018 Daytona 24 Hours as a stepping stone to Le MansIt has taken the best part of a season but Fernando Alonso may yet throw off the fug that has engulfed him come Formula One’s final round in Abu Dhabi. Certainly closing the curtain on McLaren’s disastrous relationship with Honda will give the Spaniard reason for a sigh of relief but there is a strong likelihood that events even sooner may prove enough for Alonso to revel in racing again.He is expected to undertake a test in Bahrain on Sunday of Toyota’s TS050 Hybrid after the conclusion of the World Endurance Championship, as...
The F1 world champion proved his hunger remains while Ferrari fought back but Valtteri Bottas, the quality of racing and the future of the Brazilian Grand Prix are a concernAfter making his only major error of the season with a crash in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he wanted to redeem himself in the race. Finishing in fourth place after starting from the pit lane was better than he expected. It was a performance acknowledged by the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, who said: “It was the best fourth place I’ve ever seen. If you consider starting from the pit lane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it’s quite an astonishing drive.” In doing...
Any cut in their long-standing $68m team payment, in the interests of promoting closer racing with their rivals, may see Enzo Ferrari’s vision happy to succumb to financial reality and throw in their handSixty-seven years on from when Enzo Ferrari entered his team in their first Formula One world championship, his obsession has left an extraordinary legacy. The Scuderia are the only team to have entered every season since F1 began and its most successful, with 16 constructors’ and 15 drivers’ championships. It is a remarkable record that to an extent reflects Ferrari’s ruthless attitude to racing and his single-mindedness in pursuing that end.Ferrari originally only begrudgingly built road cars to fund the automobiles he wanted to take to the...