F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

As it played in their championship battle this year too, Sebastian Vettel was forced to play second fiddle to an imperious Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale as the Mercedes driver took his 11th win of the season, enjoying a serene performance that perfectly reflected his majestic run to his fifth title this year.

Strong from the very start of the race, having recorded his 11th pole position of the year on Saturday, Hamilton benefitted from an early switch to supersoft tyres under a Virtual Safety Car – brought out after Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire on lap seven in his final race for Ferrari – before biding his time to re-inherit the lead and sweep to his 83rd career victory.

Behind him, Vettel had a lonely run to second place, after dispatching Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas mid-race, while he was followed home by the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, Ricciardo unable to claim that podium he so dearly wanted in his 100th and final race for Red Bull before he moves to Renault. Bottas ended up fifth.

Carlos Sainz, in his own last race for Renault before switching to McLaren, enjoyed a strong run to sixth place to help Renault to seal fourth place in the constructors’ title, while his team mate Nico Hulkenberg fared less well, clashing with Romain Grosjean on lap one and barrel rolling into the barriers, although fortunately not suffering any ill effects from the ugly looking incident.

Charles Leclerc was seventh in his final outing for Sauber before he moves to Ferrari for 2019, ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez and the Haas of Grosjean in ninth – who managed to continue after his first-lap brush with Hulkenberg. Kevin Magnussen’s run to 10th denied Fernando Alonso the chance to up his points tally in his final Grand Prix before retiring, the McLaren driver employing some questionable cornering techniques in the final part of the race – and getting a five-second penalty for his troubles – in his bid to get after the Dane, but ultimately ending up 11th in his 311th race. Meanwhile apart from Raikkonen, Force India’s Esteban Ocon, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and Sauber’s Marcus Ericcson all retired from their last races with their respective teams due to technical trouble.

F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins Brazil Grand Prix

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was cruelly robbed of what looked set to be a remarkable win at Interlagos, after a dramatic collision while battling the lapped Force India of Esteban Ocon allowed Lewis Hamilton through to take the race victory, helping to secure Mercedes fifth consecutive constructor title in the process.

Verstappen was enjoying a strong Brazilian Grand Prix, and had seized the lead from Hamilton when Ocon attempted to unlap himself down the pit straight on lap 44. Both drivers refused to yield, with Ocon holding out around the outside of Turn 1 before the pair touched, sending both drivers into a spin, Hamilton gratefully nipping through between them before going on to record his 72nd career win. Verstappen was left unimpressed, as were the stewards, who duly handed Ocon as 10-second stop-go penalty.

Bad for Verstappen but great for Mercedes, who become only the second team – after Ferrari – to claim five consecutive constructors’ crowns, to add to Hamilton’s fifth drivers’ title from last time out in Mexico. In a thrilling final few laps, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen just managed to hold onto the final podium position from a charging Daniel Ricciardo who finished fourth in the second Red Bull. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas took fifth and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel sixth, while Sauber’s Charles Leclerc drove a fine race to claim the best-of-the-rest prize in seventh.

We now head to the season finale at the spectacular Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 23-25. With both titles now decided, this is set to be an enjoyable romp for personal glory, as the drivers – with no championship pressure to dictate their strategies – go all-out for the final race win of 2018.

F1 2018: Max Verstappen wins Mexico Grand Prix

The Champagne and the big trophy in Mexico City went to Max Verstappen, the Dutchman driving an exemplary race to repeat his 2017 victory. But while it was a fifth race win for Verstappen, it was a fifth title win for Lewis Hamilton, the British driver’s fourth place enough to see him crowned champion with two races to go, becoming only the third ever driver, behind Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher, to claim five world championships.

Verstappen’s win was arguably the most polished of his career so far. He was incisive off the line to pip his pole-sitting team mate Daniel Ricciardo before enjoying a mostly lonely race out at the front of the field. Sebastian Vettel knew that his chances of staying in the title hunt were minimal coming into the race. But despite putting in a fine performance – including executing a terrific move on Hamilton on lap 39 – to finish second, it wasn’t enough for Vettel to deny Hamilton.

Vettel was joined on the podium by his team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn having had a mostly quiet afternoon but doing enough to deny Hamilton a podium finish on his momentous title-winning day. That left the Mercedes boys to finish fourth and fifth, Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with Hamilton massively dropping his pace towards the race end to make it home safely and claim the championship.

Some fine midfield performances saw Nico Hulkenberg take sixth – good news for Renault on a day when Haas failed to score – Charles Leclerc finish seventh, while the beleaguered Stoffel Vandoorne was eighth to equal his best performance of the year. But despite a crushing win for Verstappen to put Red Bull on top for the first time since Austria, the plaudits today have to go equally to Hamilton, the British driver now forming part of an exceptionally rare group of Formula 1 drivers.

F1 2018: Kimi Raikkonen wins USA Grand Prix

It was set up as the day when Lewis Hamilton would seal a fifth world title. Instead, the United States Grand Prix will be remembered for another piece of history as the day when Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen brilliantly broke a 112 race winless streak.

The Finn, whose last victory came all the way back in Australia 2013, 2044 days earlier, came out on top of a titanic three-way battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes driver Hamilton at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas to claim his 21st career victory and become, at 39, F1’s oldest race winner since Nigel Mansell in 1994.

Behind Raikkonen, Verstappen put his qualifying woes behind him as he crossed the line 1.2s back to cap a superb drive through the field from 18th on the grid, while Hamilton – who started from pole and led during the middle phase of the race – was forced to settle for third after needing to make one more pit stop than his rivals. Hamilton will now look to Mexico next weekend as his chance to clinch the 2018 drivers’ crown, with his gap to rival Sebastian Vettel stretched to 70 points by virtue of another scruffy race for the Ferrari star.

Vettel started fifth but was 15th at the end of lap one after another first-lap spin, this time following contact with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo while battling for fourth. The German recovered to finish fourth, passing the second Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas late on, but even if he wins in Mexico next weekend he will be powerless to stop Hamilton from beating him to becoming just the third man in history to secure five titles if the Briton scores five or more points there.

F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins Hungary Grand Prix

Even as he was recording his 77th pole position, there were few who thought that the British driver would maintain that position 24 hours later. But a nerve display from Ferrari allowed Hamilton to fairly cruise to his 67th win, sharing the podium with chief rival Sebastian Vettel and team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

It had looked set to be a Mercedes one-two with six laps left to go. But Vettel used DRS to sweep past Valtteri Bottas into Turn 1. When the Finn tried to fight back into Turn 2, he locked up and clipped Vettel. The German continued, pulling Raikkonen through with him, as Bottas dropped to fourth with a damaged front wing.

Three laps later, Bottas hit Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull as the Australian tried to make a move into Turn 1 to mark a messy end of the race for the Finn, who ended up in fifth – a position he retained even with the 10-second time penalty he received post-race for his role in the incident. Ricciardo, on the other hand, will have been delighted to finish fourth, having started the race down in P12.

Pierre Gasly drove a great Grand Prix to finish in sixth for Toro Rosso, comfortably leading home Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, while Fernando Alonso gave McLaren something to smile about, coming home P8. The Renault of Carlos Sainz and the Haas of Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 10. Up at the front though, it was Hamilton who claimed his sixth Hungarian Grand Prix victory, which puts the Hungaroring joint with Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as the British driver’s top hunting ground on the F1 calendar.

F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins German Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel has achieved many things in his career, but prior to race the Ferrari driver had never won nor led more than a handful of laps at Hockenheim - a venue only a handful of miles from where he grew up.

Hamilton, who had never previously won from outside the top six on the grid, led home team mate Valtteri Bottas to give the Silver Arrows their first ever one-two on home soil. In doing so Hamilton also equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of four German GP wins, as the seven-time world champion’s former team Ferrari had to make do with third place for Kimi Raikkonen.

Behind Vettel and Bottas are Kimi Raikkonen, the former’s teammate at Ferrari, and Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Verstappen’s teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, knew going into qualifying that he was going to be at the back of the grid due to a power unit replacement on his car.

Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean of the American-owned Haas F1 team qualified fifth and sixth, respectively, ahead of both Renault cards. The Sauber of Charles Leclerc once again made it into the third qualifying session, and will line up ninth alongside Sergio Perez and his Force India to round out the Top 10. With it an eight-point deficit to Vettel in the championship was converted into a 17-point advantage, while Ferrari’s misery was completed as Mercedes reclaimed the lead in the constructors’ race by eight points.

F1 2018: Sebastian Vettel wins British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of a record sixth British Grand Prix looked to be in tatters after Kimi Raikkonen pitched him into a spin at the start. The Mercedes driver recovered to second in spectacular fashion but it was title rival Sebastian Vettel who took the ultimate spoils with a superbly measured performance.

Mercedes gave themselves a chance of snatching back the win by leaving Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas out when the Safety Car was called into action late in the race, while Ferrari and Red Bull pitted for fresh tyres. And for a few laps, it looked like it may work as Bottas held off Vettel, with Hamilton to third. But ultimately, Vettel had too much pace on the softer tyres and after eyeing his prey for a few laps, brilliantly snatched the lead from Bottas. Hamilton also moved past the Finn, but he didn’t have the performance to attack Vettel and had to settle for second with Raikkonen third.

It was Vettel’s 51st victory, moving him level with four-time world champion Alain Prost in third in the all-time list. The German extends his championship lead over Hamilton to eight points heading to his home race at Hockenheim. It’s the first time it’s been more than a point ahead since the Chinese Grand Prix.

Raikkonen made short work of the Mercedes for the final podium place, with Bottas managing to hold onto fourth. Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, with Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen on course to beat him, only to be told to retire the car with a suspected gearbox issue, the Dutchman having moments earlier spun at the penultimate corner. Nico Hulkenberg was sixth, ahead of Esteban Ocon with Fernando Alonso making into the points for the second successive race and Pierre Gasly completing the top 10 and scoring points for the third time this year - albeit under investigation for a late-race clash with Sergio Perez.

F1 2018: Max Verstappen wins Austria Grand Prix

Mercedes looked like they had the Austrian Grand Prix sewn up. But disaster struck in spectacular fashion as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton both retired. Max Verstappen took advantage and seized his first win of the season, to the delight of the swathes of Dutch fans that had made the pilgrimage to the Red Bull Ring.

Hamilton’s record 33-races-in-the-points streak came to a shuddering stop while he also relinquished the lead of the championship, with Sebastian Vettel - who finished third behind Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen - overturning a 14-point deficit to lead by a single point. Verstappen took advantage of Mercedes’ misfortune to take a fourth career victory, the Red Bull driver inheriting the lead, having previously put a good early move on Raikkonen, and then managing his tyres beautifully as several of his rivals struggled with blistering.

Meanwhile, Ricciardo had pitted, too, as his soft tyres started to blister in what were the warmest conditions of the weekend. Hamilton was struggling, too, and Vettel pounced to take third. After complaining about his tyres for several laps, Mercedes pitted the world champion for a second time and fitted the supersofts. He rejoined in fifth, behind Ricciardo. But that became fourth when Ricciardo pulled off the track, saying on team radio that he had lost gear sync.

That promoted Romain Grosjean to a brilliant fourth; the best ever result for Haas, one place ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen, with Verstappen comfortably leading the Ferrari duo of Raikkonen and Vettel up front. Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez were sixth and seventh respectively, with Fernando Alonso charging from a pit-lane start to an impressive eighth. Charles Leclerc lost a bunch of time when he ran into the gravel at the start but recovered to take ninth – his fourth points finish in five races – with Sauber team mate Marcus Ericsson taking 10th in what is only his second time in the points in 2018.

F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins French Grand Prix

Mercedes brought their delayed engine upgrade to France, complete with “added goodness” and Lewis Hamilton took full advantage converting pole position into a commanding victory in the returning French Grand Prix as his chief title rival Sebastian Vettel made life hard for himself.

Hamilton was back to his brilliant best in qualifying and proceeded to dominate the race, crossing the line seven seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium. With Vettel finishing down in fifth, Hamilton convincingly reclaimed the lead in the drivers’ standings.

Ricciardo took fourth, well clear of Vettel, while Sainz was set for a brilliant sixth before suffering a power problem with three laps to go. Kevin Magnussen in the Haas and Bottas slipped by but Sainz held on to eighth, ahead of Renault team mate Nico Hulkenberg. Charles Leclerc rose as high as sixth at the start and though his challenge faded, he drove brilliantly to take 10th for Sauber – his fourth points finish in five races. Romain Grosjean was the best-placed home driver, finishing just outside the points for Haas in 11th, the Frenchman having picked up a five-second time penalty for contact with compatriot Ocon on the run to Turn 1 at the start.

Force India's Sergio Perez retired with an engine problem, while Williams' Lance Stroll’s front-left tyre failed with a couple of laps remaining, spraying debris across the track and sparking a virtual safety car that ended with just half a lap to go. It was win number three of 2018 for Hamilton, who now leads the championship by 14 points from Vettel, while Mercedes’ advantage over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings swelled by four points to 23 with 13 races still remaining.

F1 2018: Lewis Hamilton wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Ferrari Sebastian Vettel had looked on course for his third win of the season in Baku. Then the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided late on, the Safety car was deployed and everything changed.

Valtteri Bottas made his sole pit stop for Mercedes – it gave him the lead and when the unfortunate Vettel tried to overtake at Turn 1 on the restart, the German out-braked himself and instantly dropped out of the podium places. But within a lap, Bottas was also robbed of victory after running over debris and picking up a puncture – it handed the win to team mate Lewis Hamilton, whose triumph over Kimi Raikkonen gave him the championship lead, as Force India also celebrated with an unexpected podium for Sergio Perez.

Vettel trailed home fourth, ahead of Renault’s Carlos Sainz, with rookie Charles Leclerc an incredible sixth for Sauber – his first F1 points. The McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were seventh and ninth, split by Williams’ Lance Stroll, with Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley getting his maiden point as he completed the top 10. There had been drama from the off at the race start, with Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin both eliminated – Ocon went into the wall after contact with Raikkonen as the Ferrari tried to pass at Turn 3, while Sirotkin ran into the rear of the sister Force India of Perez, before getting pinched between Alonso’s McLaren and Nico Hulkenberg Renault.

There was one final piece of drama, though. With victory seemingly his, Bottas ran over a piece of debris on the track, suffering a puncture and allowing Hamilton to cruise to his first Grand Prix victory this season. It means the Briton now leads Vettel in the driver standings, 70 points to 66, with Raikkonen third ahead of Bottas, 48 to 40. In the constructors' stakes, Ferrari have retaken the lead on 114 points to 110.

F1 2018: Daniel Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix

A Collision, a safety car and a Red Bull gamble. Those three ingredients delivered the most exciting Grand Prix in recent memory. Sebastian Vettel Led. Then Valtteri Bottas Led. But it was Daniel Ricciardo who came out on top when it mattered.

The Australian than powered off into the distance to secure his first victory since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Bottas second for the second successive race. Raikkonen took third – a reward for a strong opening phase, which actually resulted in him falling back, and seemingly being hung out to dry by Ferrari as they appeared to try and use him to help bring Vettel back into play.

Verstappen crossed the line fourth, but that turned into fifth as the stewards handed him a 10-second penalty for hitting Vettel. Hamilton salvaged fourth. Nico Hulkenberg was a superb sixth for Renault, with Fernando Alonso getting his elbows out and squeezing Vettel, who was struggling with his tyres, off track in the opening sequence for seventh. Renault’s Carlos Sainz and Haas’s Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10 in a race that will live very long in the memory.

The result tightens up the drivers' championship, with Vettel's lead narrowed to nine points over Hamilton, 54 to 45, with Bottas just five back on 40 and Ricciardo - who also set the fastest lap and picked up the Driver of the Day Award - leaping up to fourth on 37. In the constructors' stakes, Mercedes now have a one-point advantage over Ferrari, 85 to 84, with Red Bull moving into a clear third place on 55.

F1 2018: Sebastian Vettel wins Australian Grand Prix

Ferrari defeated Mercedes for the successive second year in Australian as Sebastian Vettel made the most of good fortune to snatch victory from Lewis Hamilton in 2018 F1 season opener.

Hamilton looked on course for victory, but Vettel took advantage of running longer and pitting during a virtual safety car period to lead the race before absorbing massive pressure from his old rival to secure his 48th career victory. Reigning world champion Hamilton has now converted just two of his seven pole positions in Melbourne while Vettel’s victory means he has now achieved 100 podiums, joining Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Hamilton in that elite club.

Vettel's team mate Kimi Raikkonen kept Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at bay to secure the final podium position, but there was heartbreak for Haas as both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean retired from fourth and fifth following a wheel gun issue during their pit stops, which stewards are investigating. Hamilton got away cleanly from pole to maintain the lead into Turn 1 and then held off an optimistic attack from Raikkonen into Turn 3.

Verstappen crossed the line sixth, with Hulkenberg seventh and Valtteri Bottas, who started from 15th after crashing his Mercedes in qualifying, eighth. Carlos Sainz completed the top 10 in the second Renault. Force India finished just outside of the points with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon 11th and 12th respectively, with Charles Leclerc impressing on his debut with 13th for Sauber. Williams' Lance Stroll and Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley completed the finishers.

Sergey Sirotkin became 2018’s first retirement, following brake failure, while Pierre Gasly’s Honda engine expired to put the Toro Rosso driver out. Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber failed to finish, too, after he encountered a power steering problem.

Sebastian Vettel wins Brazil Grand Prix

Ferrari Sebastian Vettel took victory in Grande Premio Heineken do Brazil 2017 after holding off Mercedes Valtteri Bottas for 71 laps of Interlagos. However, it was Bottas team mate Lewis Hamilton who was arguably the race’s biggest star, the world champion recovering from a pit-lane start to almost snatch the final podium spot from the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fifth ahead of team mate Daniel Ricciardo, the latter fighting back from a 14th-place grid slot, while Williams’ Felipe Massa narrowly won a race-long battle with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso to finish his final home Grand Prix in seventh. Force India’s Sergio Perez also joined that scrap late on, as Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten.

The race started in dramatic fashion. As Vettel got the jump on polesitter Bottas to lead into Turn 1, chaos soon ensued behind them, with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen making contact with Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren, which in turn ran into Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Ricciardo spun across the grass but was able to continue with seemingly minimal damage, but it was race over for Magnussen and Vandoorne. The stewards are investigating the incident.

Seconds later, Esteban Ocon’s run of 27 Grand Prix finishes was ended abruptly after a touch with Romain Grosjean Haas sent the two cars pirouetting off the track in unison. Unlike the Force India driver, Grosjean continued on his way, but he was later handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. That triggered the safety car, which stayed out until the end of Lap 5. The only other retirement of the race was Brendon Hartley, who was told to bring his Toro Rosso in for a terminal pit stop on Lap 42. There is only race left in 2017 season.

Sebastian Vettel wins Hungary Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel led team mate Kimi Raikkonen home for a Ferrari one-two in Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydij 2017. With Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth, it means Vettel extends his championship lead to 14 points heading into the summer break.

On a day when the Silver Arrows had no answer to the Scuderia, despite Vettel complaining of steering issues, Valtteri Bottas took third ahead of Hamilton, just in front of a recovering Max Verstappen, who had been penalized 10 seconds for taking his Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo out of the race on the opening lap. Fernando Alonso secured his and McLaren’s best result of the year in sixth, winning a race-long battle with fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso. Force India again got both cars in the points, with Sergio Perez beating team mate Esteban Ocon to eighth place, whilst Stoffel Vandoorne rounded out the top ten in the second McLaren.

Vettel and Raikkonen finished less than a second apart after 70 laps of the Hungaroring, but the reds certainly had to work much harder than they anticipated for their 43 points. In the opening stages they were very much in command, as Vettel sprinted away and took Raikkonen with him, and Hamilton dropped behind team mate Bottas and Verstappen at the start. But gradually Raikkonen began to erode Vettel lead as the German started complaining of a steering problem, and when Hamilton’s car came alive on the soft Pirelli tyres in the second stint, Mercedes asked Bottas to let the Briton by.

The result puts Vettel further ahead again in the title chase with 202 points to Hamilton’s 188 and Bottas 169, while Raikkonen closes on Ricciardo 117 with 116. Daniil Kvyat was 11th in the other Toro Rosso, four-tenths ahead of Jolyon Palmer who had run 10th early on before being instructed to let faster Renault team mate Nico Hulkenberg by. The German was fighting for points when he was eased off-track in Turn 2 by Kevin Magnussen (who received a five second penalty as a result), but his R.S.17 malfunctioned right near the end and he was instructed to retire.

That left Magnussen 13th from Lance Stroll who was Williams’ sole finisher after the returning Paul di Resta drove a smooth and incident-free race battling with the Saubers until he too was told to stop near the end due to an oil leak. Pascal Wehrlein beat Sauber team mate Marcus Ericsson for 16th, as Romain Grosjean joined Hulkenberg, di Resta and Ricciardo in retirement when an improperly fastened wheel obliged Haas to tell him to stop.

Lewis Hamilton wins Britain Grand Prix

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for the fifth time matching the record of Jim Clark and Alain Prost – to cut Sebastian Vettel championship lead to just a single point after late tyre dramas hit both Ferraris. They allowed Valtteri Bottas to grab second from Kimi Raikkonen to secure a Mercedes one-two, as Vettel trailed home seventh.

Red Bull – off the pace of the frontrunners all afternoon – were the key beneficiaries, with Max Verstappen fourth and Daniel Ricciardo – the fans’ Driver of the Day after battling his way up from P19 on the grid –fifth. Behind them, Nico Hulkenberg secured a superb sixth place for Renault – some consolation for the French team after Jolyon Palmer in the sister car went out with hydraulic problems on the formation lap. The Force India’s of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez took the flag in eighth and ninth respectively, with Felipe Massa the final point scorer for Williams in tenth.

As Red Bull fell back, Bottas in the other Mercedes was pushing forward. He moved ahead of Verstappen after the latter’s pit stop on the 19th lap, then ran long on his soft tyres, climbed to second behind Hamilton as the Ferraris stopped, then battled after them on his supersoft tyres after pitting on the 32nd of the 51 laps. Vettel succumbed as the Mercedes slammed past going up to Stowe on the 43rd lap, after an attempt round the outside there the previous lap hadn’t quite worked out, and then Bottas began to slice into Raikkonen’s advantage as he sensed a possible Mercedes one-two.

Stoffel Vandoorne couldn’t quite turn his top 10 qualifying position into points with 11th for McLaren, who lost Fernando Alonso at just over half distance with mechanical problems. Haas took 12th and 13th with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, as Marcus Ericsson was Sauber top finisher in 14th ahead of the delayed Kvyat, who got a drive-through penalty for rejoining the circuit unsafely and thus causing the collision with his team mate. Lance Stroll was 16th for Williams with some ‘aero loss’ late in the race, leading home Sauber Pascal Wehrlein.

Valtteri Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix

Mercedes Valtteri Bottas drove a masterly race to securely victory – his second season in Austrian Grand Prix, finishing just 0.6s ahead of world championship leader Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third after fending off Mercedes Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages.

Kimi Raikkonen took a distant fifth in the second Ferrari, with Romain Grosjean an excellent sixth for Haas. The Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were seventh and eighth, while Williams staged an impressive recovery with Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll – who started 17th and 18th respectively – completing the top ten. It was a dramatic beginning to the race. As Bottas made a getaway so good the stewards’ investigated a potential jump start, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat braked too late into Turn 1 and ran into the fast-starting Fernando Alonso.

Much to the chagrin of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and his legion of orange-clad fans who sat watching in horror, Alonso's McLaren inadvertently collided with Verstappen, who spun. Verstappen and Alonso had sufficient damage that they were forced to retire. Kvyat continued, receiving a drive-through for his trouble. From there on, in many ways it was a rear-loaded race, with most of the action at the end. The Finn led easily from pole and dominated the first half of the race when the leaders were running Pirelli’s ultrasofts tyres – but once the switch to supersofts came it was a whole different story.

Jolyon Palmer’s best drive of the season saw him see off Renault partner Nico Hulkenberg, and just fail to beat Stroll to the final point by half a second. Stoffel Vandoorne was 12th in the other McLaren, penalized for ignoring blue flags, ahead of Hulkenberg, the Saubers of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson, and Kvyat. Carlos Sainz had to retire the sister Toro Rosso after falling dramatically from point’s contention early on with mechanical woes. The other retiree was Kevin Magnussen, who was hounding Palmer when he suffered hydraulic failure on his Haas. Vettel now has a 20-point lead heading into the British Grand Prix weekend, with 171 points to Hamilton’s 151, the closing Bottas on 136 and 107 for Ricciardo.

Sebastian Vettel wins Monaco Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel beat Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen to victory in Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2017, boosting his title advantage to 25 points over Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, who finished a distant seventh. Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium for Red Bull.

A longer first stint for Vettel enabled him to get ahead of polesitter and early leader Raikkonen as he emerged in front of the Finn following their first and only pit stops. It was Ferrari’s first win in the Principality since 2001. Ricciardo similarly made use of the ‘overcut’ to pass Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and his less-than-impressed Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen, who duly took the chequered flag in fourth and fifth respectively. Toro Rosso were ‘best of the rest’ with Carlos Sainz in sixth, as Hamilton behind him climbed from 13th on the grid. Completing the top ten were Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, separated by the Williams of Felipe Massa.

The most dramatic moment of the race came on Lap 60 when an ambitious passing attempt from McLaren’s Jenson Button on Sauber Pascal Wehrlein went awry, tipping the latter’s car on to its side against the Portier barriers, its mercifully unharmed driver unable to escape his cockpit until help arrived. And as the safety car emerged, Button got as far as the chicane before suspension damage forced him to halt his one-race comeback. Raikkonen had won the start, and soon the two Ferraris cleared off, though there was a period in the middle of the race when the pursuing Bottas and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo were running quicker as the red cars’ tyres started sliding.

But it was Vettel stop, on the 39th lap, which put him ahead of Raikkonen, who had made his pit call five laps sooner. That settled the race in his favor, extending his championship points score to 129. For Ferrari the race marked a big step towards not only the drivers’ championship, but also the constructors, as they move back ahead of Mercedes with 196 points to 179 as they scored their first 1-2 since Germany 2010.

Valtteri Bottas wins Russian Grand Prix

Mercedes Valtteri Bottas scored the first win of his F1 career after holding off the charging Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel for a superb victory in the 2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen made it two red cars on the Sochi Podium, as Lewis Hamilton trailed home a distant fourth in the second Mercedes.

Bottas got the jump on both Ferraris at the start, leading into Turn 2 from Vettel, Raikkonen and Hamilton, and from there the Finn was in command, only losing the lead during pit stops. Vettel put him under intense pressure in the closing laps, but he refused to crack and took the chequered flag just 0.6s ahead. There was drama even before the start in Russia when Fernando Alonso reported that his McLaren was losing charge.

After 40 laps, with 12 to go, it was down to just 1.5s. Soon he would be within range to use his DRS system to attempt an overtaking move, and the closing laps were real nail-biters as they threaded their way through traffic. Going into the final lap Vettel was only seven-tenths of a second behind. But keeping his nerve and lapping Felipe Massa’s Williams and leaving the German to follow the Brazilian through the long, fast Turn 3, Bottas got the break he needed and took a crucial victory for Mercedes by 0.6s.

Raikkonen was third, 10.3s behind, with the very unhappy Hamilton fourth after suffering intermittent overheating issues for much of the afternoon. Max Verstappen was a lonely fifth on a day when Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo succumbed early to rear brake problems, while Force India scored their 14th consecutive set of points, and maintained their 2017 record of getting both cars into them, as Sergio Perez led home team mate Esteban Ocon, the latter a career-best seventh. On a day when Bottas joined the F1 elite in tremendous style, Vettel came away with an extended championship lead over Hamilton. His advantage is up to 13 points, 86 to 73, while Bottas has closed in on 63 in third, with Raikkonen fourth on 49. In the constructors’ stakes Mercedes now lead Ferrari by just a single point, 136 to 135.

Sebastian Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel leads the drivers’ championship after winning a tense 2017 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from Lewis Hamilton. A late charge from Hamilton wasn’t quite enough to prevent a Ferrari victory, as his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas took third.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth for Ferrari, with Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull’s only finisher in fifth, team mate Max Verstappen having retired early with brake failure. Felipe Massa secured sixth for Williams, from Force India’s Sergio Perez and Haas’s Romain Grosjean. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Force India’s Esteban Ocon completed the top ten.

Polesitter Bottas led from Vettel at the start, as Hamilton dropped to third, but the complexion of the race was altered on Lap 13 when Williams’ Lance Stroll and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz collided as the latter exited the pits. It ended both men’s evenings and brought out the safety car, prompting a flurry of pit stops. Hamilton had to queue behind Bottas and delayed Ricciardo behind him in the process, leading to a 5-second time penalty from the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly in the pit lane.

With the safety car shuffle complete, it was Vettel who led from Bottas at the restart on Lap 17, while Hamilton immediately reclaimed P3 from Ricciardo. The final showdown began after Hamilton pitted for the last time on Lap 41 to take his penalty, rejoining in third. He quickly caught Bottas, who dutifully moved aside, leaving the Briton with 10 laps to hunt down Vettel, who was 13s up the road. He gave it his all but it ultimately proved too big an ask, and the gap was 6.6s at the flag.

Nico Rosberg wins Japanese Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg extended his championship lead to 33 points with victory in 2016 Formula 1 Emirates Japanese Grand Prix, as Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton recovered from a nightmare start to finish third, just behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The result gives Mercedes an unassailable lead in the constructor’s championship effectively securing them a third straight crown. Sebastian Vettel was Ferrari lead runner on a frustrating afternoon for the Scuderia, the German taking fourth place ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Also disappointed was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in sixth, the Australian having started the race in front of both the Scarlet cars.

The Force India of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were seventh and eighth, beating rivals Williams, who saw Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, complete the top ten, as all 22 drivers finished the race. Polesitter Nico Rosberg effectively had things won the moment Hamilton made a mistake and lagged so badly at the start that he plunged from second to eighth place.

Rosberg now has 313 points to his team mate’s 280, meaning he needs only three seconds and a third to clinch his first title over the remaining four races, even if Hamilton wins all of them. The final points went to the battling Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas who were separated by 0.5s at the flag and were only 0.9s ahead of Romain Grosjean Haas.