2018 UNITED STATES GP
AUSTIN FERRARI SF71H (1st)
Raikkonen’s second Ferrari career was not as successful or as impressive as his first, as he played second fiddle to first Fernando Alonso and then Sebastian Vettel. There weren’t many chances to take his 21st F1 victory, but when it “finally” came Raikkonen beat Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
Team-mate Vettel’s grid penalty put Raikkonen on the front row, but Ferrari had elected to run the Finn on ultrasofts tyres in Q2, as opposed to the harder supersofts of the other frontrunners.
That meant Raikkonen didn’t have the ideal tyre strategy, but would have a grip advantage at the start. And he used it to grab the lead from Hamilton.
Title contender Vettel spun after contact with Daniel Ricciardo, removing the likelihood of team orders and leaving Raikkonen to fight for the victory.
He kept Hamilton at bay before the Mercedes pitted during a virtual safety car, called after Ricciardo’s Red Bullrenault’s engine expired. On fresh soft tyres Hamilton quickly closed in and was back with the Ferrari on lap 18 of 56.
“This was the next critical moment for Raikkonen,” reported Autosport. “Keeping Hamilton behind would accelerate the thermal degradation of his rival’s tyres, and stop him using his pace to build a bigger lead. Hamilton came close to passing, but Raikkonen stood firm all the way to the end of lap 21.”
That’s when Raikkonen pitted, emerging fifth. And he had the pace on new soft rubber to stay within the necessary window to retake the lead as those ahead made their stops.
A new threat now emerged. Verstappen had started 18th, but had charged forward and run long on his soft tyres. He stopped a lap after Raikkonen, and his speed on supersofts meant he also jumped Hamilton when the Mercedes made its second stop.
It meant the three cars were now in reverse order in terms of pace, Hamilton catching both as Verstappen edged towards Raikkonen. With six laps to go, just 2.2s covered the trio.
On lap 54 Hamilton launched an attack on Verstappen. The Red Bull held him off, but the fight helped Raikkonen’s cause. He crossed the line 1.3s ahead to take his first F1 win in more than five years.
“This might well be his last GP win, and certainly among his hardest-earned, but it’s a reminder that on his day he’s still capable of delivering the drive of a champion,” concluded our report.