2018 F1 Season

21 races · Mercedes W09

In 2018, Ferrari again gave Sebastian Vettel a car capable of winning the championship, and for half the season the German kept up a thrilling fight with Lewis Hamilton. At several circuits, the Ferrari was even faster than the Mercedes.

Yet the title ended up being decided by mistakes. The most painful came in Germany: leading his home race in the rain, Vettel spun off and handed the win to Hamilton, a psychological blow he never recovered from. Other errors, like Monza, finished off his chances.

Hamilton, flawless in the key moments, took his fifth world title and matched the five championships of the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, leaving him behind only Michael Schumacher.

Drivers' Champion

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes W09

Constructors' Champion

Mercedes

21 races

Key moment

"Vettel spins off at Hockenheim in the rain while leading, championship turning point."

The 2018 grid, car by car

The 10 teams that raced in 2018, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Mercedes
98
Lewis Hamilton · Valtteri Bottas
2Ferrari
96
Sebastian Vettel · Kimi Räikkönen
3Red Bull
91
Max Verstappen · Daniel Ricciardo
4Renault
82
Carlos Sainz · Nico Hulkenberg
5Haas
80
Kevin Magnussen · Romain Grosjean
6Force India
78
Sergio Perez · Esteban Ocon
7McLaren
78
Fernando Alonso · Stoffel Vandoorne
8Toro Rosso
73
Pierre Gasly · Brendon Hartley
9Sauber
70
Charles Leclerc · Marcus Ericsson
10Williams
65
Lance Stroll · Sergey Sirotkin

How 2018 actually ended

The official final standings, from Australian Grand Prix to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes408111711
2Sebastian VettelFerrari3205125
3Kimi RäikkönenFerrari2511121
4Max VerstappenRed Bull2492110
5Valtteri BottasMercedes247082
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull170222
7Nico HülkenbergRenault69000
8Sergio PérezForce India62010

Hamilton took it by 88 points with 11 wins and 11 poles across 21 races. 5 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Lewis Hamilton.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

What if 2018 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2018 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 21-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Lewis Hamiltonreal championMercedesP1100%
Sebastian VettelFerrariP2.40%
Kimi RäikkönenFerrariP3.30%
Valtteri BottasMercedesP3.50%
Max VerstappenRed BullP4.90%
Daniel RicciardoRed BullP60%

Lewis Hamilton wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Sebastian Vettel manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

Tags

#hamilton#vettel#mercedes#ferrari#2018#W09#5 títulos

Year

2018

Races

21

Winning car

Mercedes W09

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2018 championship-winning car?