The Top 5 Grands Prix Which Made 2018 A Memorable Year For Formula One

The 2018 Formula 1 season could be seen in multiple ways, even if the standard narrative may never change and shouldn¡¯t: this was another year where Lewis Hamilton proved beyond the reach of the Ferraris.

What can be debated and must, with good measure for the upcoming season, are narratives that possibly point to how Hamilton came to grasp a fifth driver¡¯s title, a feat that now puts him only behind Michael Schumacher, who¡¯s ahead with seven world titles.

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So what do we have here?

Were Ferrari lacking so significantly in their bid to beat Mercedes, and if yes, then where that they failed to take home the Constructor¡¯s trophy, an award that the Silver Arrows have now bagged on four occasions out of last five attempts?

And finally, what suddenly became of Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion and a special talent in his own right, someone who began this year with a bang, winning, once again the races at Australia and Bahrain.

Another narrative without examining which one mustn¡¯t theorize what lies ahead in the 2019 season is whether Red Bull- with 4 race wins in 2018- upped their game this last season, garnering a race win in every fifth race, on an average.

But while there was no dearth of excitement in the Lewis vs Sebastian show that quickly transformed into being ¡®Hammertime¡¯ particularly in the second half of the season, there were, at the end of it, some amazing races that made the 2018 season a big hit.

That said, what were the Top 5 Grands Prix of the 2018 Formula 1 season?

Max dominates the Austrian Grand Prix

That Red Bull had never previously won at their home track prior to the 2018 Austrian GP- Spielberg, the land of the famous F1 team and brand- was in itself no mean feat.

That the Christian Horner-led outfit¡¯s maiden triumph in front of the home fans came via a breathtaking drive executed by none other than Max Verstappen, was something incredibly special.

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But if one were to step away from celebratory adjectives, it has to be said, throughout the race-weekend, the only certainty about Red Bull winning at Austria, was about as certain as there being no snow in the Arctic.

Especially given that Max, the race-winner at the end had begun from fifth, his job at winning the Austrian Grand Prix was never really going to be easy.

Up ahead in front, right at the start of the Austrian GP, Max had to battle with both Ferraris and Mercedes but this was something he never shied away from.

As both the Silver Arrows race-retired owing to technical or mechanical snags, Verstappen, visibly quick all weekend gained control of the race by constantly chipping away at the Ferraris of Raikkonen and Vettel.

On the longer straights of Spielberg, there would be no defying the better straight-line speed of the sassy Red Bull.

Daniel fires up the Chinese Grand Prix

Perhaps the best thing about the Chinese GP was that, once again, the race winner- Daniel Ricciardo- never quite looked certain to win especially when examined from the point of the view of the race-start; a reality that would change astonishingly in the closing stages.

Ricciardo wasn¡¯t the pole sitter and nor did he make up quick places at the start of the contest at Shanghai.

Autosport

To be fair to the other men on the grid, at the start of the 56-lap-contest, the two Red cars and the Silver Arrows truly seemed unbeatable given the menacing pace with which they got away.

During the middle of the race, on Lap 21, eventual winner, Ricciardo was only on sixth, behind a struggling Lewis Hamilton, with the Mercedes finding itself sandwiched by the two Red Bulls.

A change in the leadership guard at the front, with Ferrari¡¯s undercut failing over Bottas meant that the man who would be the first to pit, Vettel, would now be passed by Valtteri, meaning, the Mercedes, quicker than the Ferrari of Raikkonen, would come for Kimi for second. Verstappen, meanwhile was the faster of the two Bulls and was holding on to fourth.

On Lap 30, Ricciardo would make up a place moving onto fifth but because of Raikkonen pitting.

Then, one would witness the turning point of the race that effectively changed the contest in favour of the Red Bull, a team that made the right call post Lap 30.

As Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly, the backmarkers collided at the sharp right-hander, the safety car intrusion meant that this would be the best time to pit.

In executing a brilliant strategic move, Red Bull decided to pit both their cars and in the end, as a result of fresh rubber due to double stacking, Ricciardo and Max were ready to fight till the end of the race. No more stops were needed from their end.

This is when the ¡®Honeybadger¡¯ brought out something special in his craft, at the start of Lap 35.

With little over 20 laps to go, Ricciardo would begin taking his chances. In executing some fiery moves over the likes of Raikkonen, his first victim, who the Aussie would pass around the hairpin.

BCCL

Later, Daniel would benefit from an error of judgment on the part of Max Verstappen, who in his bid to pass Hamilton would run off wide of the track on Lap 39, meaning advantage ¡®Ricciardo.¡¯

His next victim would be the 2018 world champion himself, Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, who¡¯d fail to stop the Australian¡¯s charge on Lap 40 would just not be able to stop the Aussie who dived down the inside of the Briton from way behind around a right-hander to surge through to third. Then, he¡¯d pass Vettel and Bottas, both sensationally enough to win the first of his two wins in 2018.

Kimi loses to Lewis, but wins hearts at Monza, Italy

The Iceman would do something so incredibly special at Monza, the home of the Ferrari that it would create ripples for the remainder of the season, and who knows- for quite some time to come.

In setting a belter of a lap at Monza, during the final qualifying session: 1:19:119, Kimi would set the record for the fastest ever lap in the history of the sport and clinch the pole with typical cold-bloodedness.

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But in the race, he would find Hamilton, the best driver on the grid as exemplified by five world titles, a bit too hard to contain.

Even then, Kimi, who¡¯d hang on well to the lead for the first eight laps would find himself challenged by Lewis, who initially snatched the lead at around the straights, thus, enforcing a change in leadership for the Italian GP.

But Lewis¡¯ gain would be short-lived as Raikkonen, soon after, would return for round two, passing Hamilton brilliantly in a tectonic struggle for track position.

BCCL

This time, Raikkonen¡¯s staunch defence would continue a bit longer, lasting as long as Lap 45 with only 8 more laps to go. But this is when Hamilton, who¡¯d passed Kimi earlier would extract something special from those fresher tyres when compared to Raikkonen¡¯s old rubber, then marked with blisters, to clinch the lead again. From thereon, the Briton was not going to budge.

Sebastian Vettel flies at Spa-Francorchamps

The Belgian GP is a contest that has, for the longest time, been among the favourites of the fans.

This is a track where previously Kimi was coroneted as the ¡®King of Spa¡¯, the Finn winning here on 4 occasions. This would soon, in more recent times become, one of Hamilton¡¯s choicest dens, the Briton winning here more than any driver in past half a decade.

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But in 2018, Spa-Francorchamps, a track that has produced arguably one of the sport¡¯s greatest-ever moves, the solidly crafted late lunge by Hakkinen over Schumacher in 1995, would see Ferrari bouncing back.

This time, however, Sebastian Vettel would produce one of his best races given the commanding nature of his win at a track nestled in at the heart of the Ardennes.

Whether it was the pass on Lewis on the main straights, in the run up to Eau Rouge or the clinical fashion of the German¡¯s outright dominance in a car with visibly better traction and straight line speed (than the Mercedes) there was nothing that Vettel would do wrong that weekened.

Raikkonen wins the US GP

They said at 39, Raikkonen was too old to win.

They also said that at his age, most would much rather leave the sport and focus on getting a more doable job.

But this is exactly why they also say, one mustn¡¯t take Kimi Raikkonen lightly.

Benefitting from the grid penalty handed to Vettel at the Circuit of the Americas, the German demoted to third from second, the position now inherited by Raikkonen, it was about time that one saw something special from the Iceman.

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And so Kimi provided.

Battling Lewis Hamilton well who cut away immediately at the start to block the Finn, Raikkonen held on brilliantly and fought his way through to snatching the lead of the race within seconds of the red lights turning green.

In so doing, one of F1¡¯s true ¡®characters¡¯ held on bravely to first and kept chipping away from the rest of the pack.

Toward the closing sages, Raikkonen, ever firmly in control of the race kept his cool to keep his pursuers, a fighting crew of Verstappen and Lewis under check.

He would eventually take the checkered flag and with it, bring down curtains on the careers of those who had boldly declared that his ¡®Ice had melted.¡¯