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Formula 1: Renault win 2018 ‘best of the rest’ constructor championship

By Asher Fair

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 11: Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS18 and Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS18 on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 11, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 11: Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS18 and Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Renault Sport Formula One Team RS18 on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 11, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Renault Sport clinched the unofficial “best of the rest” constructor championship for the 2018 Formula 1 season in the season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina Circuit.

Renault Sport entered the 21st and final race of the 2018 Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina Circuit trailing only the sport’s top three teams, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, in the constructor standings.

As a result, they were considered the “best of the rest” team and were in a position to clinch the unofficial “best of the rest” constructor championship for the 2018 season in this 55-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Renault entered this race with 114 points, and a maximum of 43 points are on the table for each team in each race, as race victories are worth 25 points and second place finishers are worth 18 points. Only Haas entered the race within 43 points of Renault for fourth place in the constructor standings. They entered it in fifth with 80 points.

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Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg crashed out violently on the race’s opening lap, relegating him to a 20th place finish, which was classified as a retirement. As a result, he did not score any points for the team in this race.

However, Carlos Sainz Jr. scored eight points as a result of his sixth place finish in the race as the “best of the rest” driver behind only drivers who drive for Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull Racing. Of the six drivers who drive for these teams, one finished below Sainz Jr. This driver, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, was forced to retire early on in the race with a mechanical failure and ultimately finished in 19th.

Meanwhile, Haas teammates Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finished the race in ninth and 10th place, scoring two points and one point, respectively, as a result of their performances.

Once the race concluded, Renault’s point total had grown by six (from 114 to 120) while Haas’ point total had only grown by three (from 80 to 83). Therefore, Renault clinched the unofficial “best of the rest” constructor championship in this race, and by a sizable margin of 37 points.

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Which team do you believe will win the unofficial “best of the rest” constructor championship in the 2019 Formula 1 season? When do you believe that a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull Racing will finish a season in the top three in the constructor standings?

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