THEMISSES OFTHE2017F1CAMPAIGN VETTEL

FLASHPOINT OF THE YEAR GOESBONKERS INBAKU A moment of madness, a petulant swipe from a driver these days notorious for his semi-regular volcanic eruptions. That was Seb Vettel’s flick-of-thewrists pot-shot at Lewis Hamilton just after the exit of Turn 1

MAY 28

Raikkonen led from pole, with Vettel keeping a watching brief behind. Both were easily able to stretch away from Bottas. However, the race was decided at the one and only stop. Raikkonen hit traffic on his out-lap, and the later-stopping Vettel jumped his team-mate – and that prompted suspicion of team orders affecting the outcome. Ricciardo also profited to leap up to third place. Hamilton, who had started only 13th after struggling in qualifying, fought up to seventh spot at the flag. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

JUNE 11

A first-corner brush between Verstappen and Vettel sent the Ferrari into the pits for a fresh nose, while the Red Bull would later pull up with a battery problem. None of that troubled Hamilton, who converted pole into a lead he would not lose. Bottas inherited second when Verstappen stopped, and Vettel battled back to fourth at the flag, behind Ricciardo, after some smart strategy from the pitwall. Hamilton’s win meant he trailed Vettel by 12 points in the championship chase. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

JUNE 25

From an early race restart from behind the safety car, one of the flashpoints of the season occurred: Vettel accused race leader Hamilton of brake testing him and pulled alongside the Merc before turning in to the silver car to remonstrate. Vettel got a stop-go penalty but Hamilton’s path to victory was interrupted by a loose headrest. He pulled in for repairs and returned to the track for fifth, just behind Vettel. Ricciardo won a crazy race from Bottas and Lance Stroll (Williams). Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) Lance Stroll (Williams)

JULY 9

Bottas’s “start of his life” shot him into a lead that he converted into a supreme victory. Despite the fact he stopped later for his tyre switch – and ultimately gave away time to the chasing Vettel – the Finn had enough in hand to take his second win of the year even though he came under late pressure. Ricciardo claimed third place after fending off a late challenge from Hamilton. A gearbox change penalty meant the Briton only started in eighth place and he was only 1.4s away from the podium at the end. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

JULY 16

After dominating qualifying, Hamilton was a shoo-in for victory at Silverstone and he duly delivered in front of his adoring public. Even when a safety car wiped out his 1.6s first-lap advantage, he simply got his head down and did it all over again. Raikkonen and Vettel chased hard but both would suffer cruel tyre failures late on in the race, which handed the runner-up spot on the podium to Bottas. Raikkonen pitted and recovered for third spot. Vettel was seventh. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)