The world’s best in open wheel racing took on Austria, Britain, Hungary, Belgium and Italy over the course of the last five races.
For starters, the last five Formula One races in the 2017 season have set up to make the remaining seven races very interesting. Lewis Hamilton is the only driver with multiple wins in the last five races. If any driver has had the upper hand during this span, it would be him. There were three different winners in the past five circuits and a new name atop the points standings.
We start with Austria at the Red Bull Ring where Valtteri Bottas took the win. Sebastien Vettel had a strong finish in 2nd followed by Daniel Ricciardo who snagged the last podium spot. The key takeaway from Austria was Vettel increasing his points lead over Hamilton with Hamilton finishing 4th.
However, the British Grand Prix told a different story. After a trying day for Vettel, Hamilton was able to carve into Vettel’s points lead with the win. Hamilton’s performance earned him not just the win, but 19 points closer to the championship lead as well. Vettel ended up in 7th place in Great Britain and with a far smaller cushion in the standings.
The big question was how Vettel would respond after his less than stellar British Grand Prix finish. That question was answered with a Vettel win in Hungary and a Ferrari 1-2 finish. Bottas and Hamilton finished in 3rd and 4th place, respectively, in the silver arrows. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen finished 5th and Fernando Alonso had a great day, finishing 6th in his McLaren Honda.
Break Time
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Finally, after what seemed like forever, we were back to racing in Belgium. The month-long break in action didn’t seem to slow down the two combatants competing for the top spot in the standings. Vettel played 2nd to Hamilton at Spa and once again started to see his points lead drifting away. Daniel Ricciardo spoiled the Ferrari-Mercedes podium party again, placing his Red Bull in 3rd.
Finally, this brings us to the home of Ferrari. However, Italy favored Mercedes a little more than Ferrari in 2017. Hamilton decided he wanted his name on top of the drivers’ standings and took home his second win in a row. Bottas ran 2nd with Vettel earning the last podium spot in 3rd.
On to Singapore!
After a weekend off, Formula One will go under the Singapore lights. If you’re not a fan of Formula One, now is the time to become one. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are engaged in an intense battle for the championship. One slip up by either driver could mean the championship to the other. Also, to give credit where it is due, watch out for Daniel Ricciardo. His Red Bull since the break has seems to have wings, as he finished 3rd at Spa and 4th in Italy. Expect him to keep up the momentum going forward.
Next: Looking back at Lewis Hamilton's record 69 poles
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