OMG! The very best Prize For F1 Champion Ever!

On the British Grand Prix, Hamilton would collide with Raikkonen initially and, despite a thrilling struggle back via the sphere, would finish second to Vettel -- the Ferrari driver's win secured by a thrilling move on Bottas late on. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari entrance row lockout -- one thing Sky Sports pundit Damon Hill likened to "empires rising and falling". Hamilton led away cleanly however Vettel would collide with Bottas firstly, forcing him right into a recovery drive to fifth. The Dutchman's elbows have at all times been out relating to attending to the front, and that was maybe best seen at Silverstone this season when, shortly after the start, Hamilton clipped Verstappen's back tire as the Dutchman turned in on him. Verstappen's victory was not with out controversy. In Monaco, Ricciardo took pole for Red Bull and would hold on for victory regardless of a lingering engine downside.

In a loopy sequence of laps at the top, Hamilton would acquire the lead, hold off teammate Bottas earlier than Mercedes stopped its drivers from racing, and then held on to the win after a late stewards inquiry for bailing out of a visit to the pits during the Safety Car interval which followed Vettel's crash. We have also included the records Hamilton shares with another driver, some of which he could hold alone in the following few years. Although he left Austria with an increased lead over Hamilton, he would have won the race without the penalty. Vettel was left wondering what may need been, after needlessly incurring a grid penalty due to a block on Carlos Sainz during qualifying. However, rain at Spa-Francorchamps on qualifying day offered Hamilton with an opportunity to trigger one more upset and he lined up forward of Vettel on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix.

However, Max had extra race wins than Hamilton. However, the joy was quick lived as the primary lap of the race uncovered the weaknesses of the Mercedes and highlighted the strengths of the Ferrari, permitting Vettel to breeze past Hamilton for the lead on the opening lap. After taking the flag, Vettel opened his in-car radio channel to boastfully declare: "Now we take the English flag and grasp it in Maranello", earlier than Hamilton and Mercedes instructed that the group had implored Raikkonen to hit Hamilton on the opening lap. Raikkonen had benefitted from a slipstream from Vettel in Q3 and taken pole by the smallest of margins, with Vettel second and Hamilton third. His teammate, Max Verstappen, had made an analogous cease but several clumsy strikes took him out of contention -- certainly one of them additionally spun Vettel out of third place and relegated him down the order. While combating Bottas for the win late on, he locked up at Turn 1 and ran large, damaging his tyres and falling down the order to fourth. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo would take victory after capitalising on a well-timed Safety Car period to pit for contemporary tyres.

In Austria it blundered on technique earlier than both automobiles retired with engine trouble, permitting Max Verstappen to beat Raikkonen and Vettel -- who Ferrari opted not to switch round -- to a shock victory. Max Verstappen has turn into Formula 1 world champion for the primary time after an extraordinary, controversial end to the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP which noticed him overtake Lewis Hamilton on the final lap after a dramatic late Safety Car intervention. Hamilton later credited "divine intervention" for what will certainly be one in all his most memorable profession victories. Those lessons proved to be crucial for the next races, starting in Monza one week later. But Mercedes learned beneficial lessons in Spa after struggling with traction out of the slow-pace corners firstly and end of the lap. The next two rounds had been vital blows to Mercedes' championship probabilities. Vettel edged Bottas for pole as the Finn as soon as again emerged because the stronger of the two Mercedes drivers -- Hamilton certified fourth and would finish fifth, whereas Vettel claimed another snug win. After what it described as a wake-up call, Mercedes fought again strongly in France with its personal entrance-row lockout.