Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel clings to the lead in the Formula 1 World Championship by one point after Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton ran away with the race. Vettel held a 20 point lead going into the race, however, Ferrari struggled with the setup, brakes, and tires for most of the weekend, leaving their drivers, especially Vettel, struggling. Petronas Mercedes, on the other hand, seemed to find their groove and from the get go the team was on point, putting Hamilton in the right place to win the race on Sunday.
The battle for the F1 world championship is heating up.
Sebastian Vettel, via Formula1.com, spoke of the weekend in an optimistic tone when asked if the weekend was a disaster. While Vettel acknowledged things didn’t go as Ferrari had hoped he also thought they had a solid car, especially in the corners. In fact, Vettel was up to third place when a puncture forced him into the pits. Vettel finished the race in seventh place, his lowest finishing spot of the season so far.
Vettel’s teammate, Kimi Raikkonen also had a tire puncture, however, Raikkonen finished on the podium in third place. Pirelli has stated that the punctures were not related despite both drivers complaining about blistering on the tires.
It was certainly not the weekend Ferrari had hoped for, however, Vettel retained the lead in the championship and is looking forward now to the Hungarian GP in two weeks.
Petronas Mercedes, on the other hand, had a tremendous weekend. Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had a successful race with Hamilton coming in first and Bottas second.
Bottas started in P9 after a grid penalty pushed him back after qualifying.
Bottas weaved his way through the crowd with precision but could not quite catch his teammate for the win. Mercedes also experienced issues with the tires but not to the extent that Ferrari did, and they were able to find the right combination to keep them from blistering.
The successful finish of both Hamilton and Bottas brought them within striking range of Vettel in the championship.
The Hungarian Grand Prix may be a turning point in the championship.
As the teams prepare to head to Hungary in two weeks speculation runs rampant as to what the result of the British Grand Prix means to the championship race. Previous to Silverstone, it seemed like Sebastian Vettel was starting to run away with the points lead. He was leading by 20 points and pulling ahead.
When Valtteri Bottas won the Austrian Grand Prix, he garnered the opportunity to be part of the challenge for the championship. Bottas, at that time, was closer to Lewis Hamilton than Hamilton was to Vettel.
Now, all three drivers are in serious contention for the Formula 1 World championship and within 22 points of each other. The Hungarian GP quite possibly where the corner is turned and a hint of who will be the 2017 champion will begin to emerge.
