Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel’s crash causes 38-point swing

A 38-point swing in Formula 1 is huge. That is exactly what happened as a result of Sebastian Vettel’s crash and Lewis Hamilton’s win in the German Grand Prix.

With 16 laps remaining in the 11th race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the German Grand Prix, at the 17-turn, 2.842-mile (4.574-kilometer) Hockenheimring in Am Motodrom, Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was leading in his home race.

Vettel entered the 52nd lap of the 67-lap race having led 38 of the race’s first 51 laps. But at this point in the race, rain was falling off and on around the track. As he approached turn 12 of the track on the 52nd lap of the race, he lost control of his car and went off into the gravel before hitting the wall, forcing him to retire.

Here is a video of this disastrous accident, which took place while Vettel had a lead of over nine seconds over Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas in second place and appeared to be well on his way to his fifth victory of the 2018 season.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1021049105408188416

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who trailed Vettel by eight points for the lead in the driver standings heading into the race, was running in fourth place when Vettel crashed. Vettel was slated to earn 25 points for winning the race while Hamilton was slated to earn 12 points for finishing in fourth. Vettel’s lead in the standings was slated to grow from eight points to 21 points.

However, Vettel’s wreck changed everything, and it may very well be the reason why Hamilton is able to secure his fifth career Formula 1 championship this year if he is indeed able to do so. Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen were running in second and third place, respectively, when Vettel wrecked, so they inherited first and second, respectively, as a result of the wreck. Hamilton inherited third.

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A safety car period took place as a result of Vettel’s accident. Bottas and Raikkonen took advantage of this safety car period to pit for tires, while Hamilton stayed out and inherited the lead. He ended up leading all 14 of the race’s final 14 laps en route to claiming the win, which is his fourth victory of the 2018 season and the 66th victory of his Formula 1 career.

As a result of his victory, Hamilton earned 25 points. Meanwhile, Vettel was officially scored in 18th place and did not score any points. Hamilton went from trailing Vettel for the lead in the driver standings by eight points to leading him by 17 points literally just minutes after Vettel looked poised to open up a 21-point lead over the Briton.

In other words, Vettel’s accident caused a 38-point swing in the championship fight, which is essentially the fight for a fifth championship, between he and Hamilton, who are both four-time Formula 1 champions.

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If Lewis Hamilton wins the championship by fewer than 38 points, it will be because of Sebastian Vettel’s crash. Do you believe that this will happen, or do you believe that Hamilton will win his fifth career Formula 1 championship by more than 38 points over Vettel? Do you believe that Vettel, who still only trails Hamilton by 17 points in the driver standings, will still be able to secure his fifth career championship this year?