ROUND-BY-ROUND
1 AUSTRALIAN GP, MELBOURNE MARCH 17
The pundits reckoned Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc would have a 0.5-second-per-lap advantage. No one told the Mercedes drivers. Lewis Hamilton was beaten away from pole by his Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who stuck two fingers up to the doubters to claim a handsome win. Hamilton was second ahead of the cutepitstopping Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
1 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 BAHRAIN GP,SAKHIR MARCH 31
Ferrari bounced back here, but there was a sting in the tail: Charles Leclerc used the SF90’S prodigious pace on longer runs to tuck up the Mercedes drivers, but a cruel cylinder problem over the closing stages cost the young gun his maiden win as Lewis Hamilton swept by. The Brit had seen off Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in a tense duel, the German thwarted when he spun.
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3 CHINESE GP, SHANGHAI APRIL 14
In Formula 1’s 1000th grand prix, Lewis Hamilton dominated from pole position after team-mate Valtteri Bottas got too much wheelspin away from the line. His delay caused a roadblock behind, where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leapfrogged team-mate Sebastian Vettel for third. Amid controversy, the Ferrari pitwall ordered the cars to change place. Leclerc eventually dropped to fourth position.
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 AZERBAIJAN GP,BAKU APRIL 28
Ferrari’s race unravelled on Saturday, when the Prancing Horse put Sebastian Vettel out on the less-favourable harder rubber in Q2, locking him to a struggle during the race, and Charles Leclerc smashed his red machine into the wall during the timed sessions. That left the way clear for Valtteri Bottas to claim his second win of the year, chased home hard by Lewis Hamilton.
1 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5 SPANISH GP, BARCELONA MAY 12
Despite Valtteri Bottas taking pole position, it was his team-mate Lewis Hamilton that led home another Mercedes 1-2, but Ferrari dropped the ball again. Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were twice ordered to swap positions on circuit but the pitwall had reacted too late. That allowed Max Verstappen’s Red Bull-honda to jump into third place.
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6 MONACO GP,MONTE CARLO MAY 26
Lewis Hamilton was constantly on the pit-tocar radio asking how the team expected him to complete a 38-lap stint on his tyres, but it worked – only just. He fended off the Red Bull of Max Verstappen to the flag after the other Merc of Valtteri Bottas had been caught offguard by a mid-race safety car. Bottas would eventually finish third after an unsafe pit release penalty thwarted Verstappen.
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
3 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
7 CANADIAN GP,MONTREAL JUNE 9
Did he do it on purpose? Did the leading Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel jink across the track to stop the closely following Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes from pouncing after the red car had skittered across the grass at the first chicane? Vettel won on the road but was demoted to second and felt very aggrieved. He switched the position boards in parc ferme to show his anger, but it was pointless. 1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8 FRENCH GP, PAUL RICARD JUNE 23
A broken seat and blistered Pirelli tyres might seem like some insurmountable problems, but Lewis Hamilton put that behind him as he powered to a dominant victory in France. No one could get near the Briton. A late-race safety car offered some excitement, but the order in the top three remained unchanged to the flag. A forgettable race.
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9 AUSTRIAN GP, SPIELBERG JUNE 30
This was gloves off between F1’s two most exciting young talents. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari took pole position, but it was fellow front-row starter Max Verstappen who won despite a disastrous start, which lost him six spots. A better tyre strategy helped the Red Bull man to pounce at the end. High temperatures meant that the Mercedes cars were also-rans.
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
10 BRITISH GP, SILVERSTONE JULY 14
Lewis Hamilton was chasing a record-breaking sixth British GP win but it looked like his polewinning team-mate Valtteri Bottas would trump him. He led until the pitstop phase. A caution period threw the race back into Hamilton’s favour, and he powered clear to a superb home triumph. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen tripped over each other at Vale too.
1 Lewis Hamillton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)