Formula 1: Can Lewis Hamilton win the championship in 2018?

With a rocky start for Lewis Hamilton this season, last year’s champion still has a shot to take the 2018 Formula 1 championship. Can he take back the lead, or will it finally be Ferrari’s year?

After three races, Lewis Hamilton has yet to take the top step on the podium at a Formula 1 event in 2018. Yes, there is plenty of time for him to take back the lead, but with an increase in Ferrari’s pace and some of the tire temperature issues that Mercedes and Hamilton have faced, can Hamilton come back and stay on top?

We all know that first place in the standings tends to ebb and flow, which is part of the reason why Formula 1 is so exciting! Remember, there have also been the seasons where one driver dominates, which is generally less exciting. Since Ferrari have caught up to Mercedes in terms of race pace, Hamilton’s race with another four-time world champion in Sebastian Vettel for the chance at a fifth world title has renewed interest for many race fans.

After the season opener in Australia ended with Vettel undercutting Hamilton in the pits for the win, Mercedes chalked up the mistake to software error with their pit stop intervals. Hamilton would go on to see another misstep in Bahrain. The second race started with the Brit dropping to 10th place, although he was able to stay out longer during his first stint and he ended finishing on the podium after Kimi Raikkonen’s unfortunate pit stop retirement.

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At the Chinese Grand Prix for race three of the season, Hamilton continued to have issues and would only qualify fourth, which in the Mercedes-dominated hybrid turbo V6 era is not a proud placement for the team or Hamilton. He would not fare much better in the race, as he did not gain any positions and finished in fourth place.

The last time Hamilton did not win in the first four races was in 2016, which was the season in which he lost the championship to his teammate Nico Rosberg. In addition to his bad start that year, Hamilton also suffered several reliability problems that certainly contributed to Rosberg’s advantage. The same could happen this year for him as well with the three-engine rule weighing on all the teams for 2018.

Going back to just last year, Hamilton took just four wins out of the first ten races. He would not take the lead in the championship away from Sebastian Vettel until after the 13th race, the Italian Grand Prix. He would go on to take the 2017 championship title by 46 points, but keep in mind that Vettel suffered from his own reliability issues. Those problems would keep him from more points and perhaps prevented a tighter finish in the driver standings.

According to ESPN, here is what Hamilton’s former teammate Nico Rosberg had to say about his season so far.

"“It’s a typical phase for Lewis when it doesn’t go perfectly and he starts to lose that edge a little bit, lose a touch of motivation and then he just struggles for a while. Usually he struggles for one, two or three races, and those are the races when as his opponent in the championship you have to maximise, and Sebastian failed to do that [in China]. That’s a big setback for him as well because Lewis always come back and when he comes back he comes back so damn strong that he’s almost unbeatable. Let’s see when that happens.”"

With four world championships to his name, Hamilton has proven that he obviously knows how to handle the pressure of a title fight. But heading into the next stop for Formula 1 in Azerbaijan, the British superstar is on a six-race winless streak.

It must be added that Hamilton is currently in the midst of setting the longest consecutive points finish streak in Formula 1 history. That shows how consistent he has been with the reliable Mercedes package, but it also means that he is well overdue for some of the proverbial “bad luck”.

Hamilton himself has admitted the following, according to Motorsport.com.

"“Who knows what the season holds? If it continues the way it is, it’s going to be very tough to win.”"

Even if Hamilton doesn’t win the title this year, he will definitely be trying his hardest.

Next: Who is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all-time?

WIth points leader Sebastian Vettel also searching for that fifth world title, the 2018 season is quickly proving to be a historic milestone in the sport. Either Lewis Hamilton or Vettel could join Juan Manuel Fangio in a second place tie on the all-time list of Formula 1 world championships. Every season is part of history, but this year may just be one of those special ones that should not be missed by anyone.

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