Automotive, F1 & Motorsport Issue 1 - September 2018 | Page 6
FOR
F
or the first time in the hybrid era,
Mercedes has not won at least
one of the first two races of the
season. Mercedes team CEO Wolff said
"This is not the start to the 2018 season
we had hoped for." Ferrari's Sebastian
Vettel took the podium in both of the
first two races leaving Lewis Hamilton
of Mercedes chasing Vettel once again.
In 2017, Vettel held top spot for a large
portion of the season before being
overtaken by Hamilton who ended up
winning the F1 Championship. And
although Hamilton was able to make
up ground last year, this is certainly not
the start he was looking for in 2018. "I
am 17 points behind and I can't afford
to lose any more points to Sebastian",
said Hamilton following the Bahrain GP.
During the Bahrain Grand Prix, a Ferrari
mechanic broke his left leg (fracture of
the tibia and fibula) when Kimi
Raikkonen's vehicle left the pit lane
prematurely. The mechanic will recover
from the unfortunate accident after
successful surgery on his broken leg.
While in the pit, the green light showed
Raikkonen that he could exit before the
left rear wheel was changed.
After two consecutive wins to the start
the season and a rocky Chinese GP,
Vettel remains atop the driver
standings. Neither Hamilton nor Vettel
came out on top in Shanghai, as Red
Bulls' Daniel Ricciardo snuck out the
victory surging from sixth to first in the
space of 10 laps. Now, after three races,
the driver standings remain closer than
ever. Who will come out on top?
10 | MANE AUTOMOTIVE, F1 & MOTORSPORT | MAY 2018