The GSOH - Round One - 1974 vs 2018
The next match of the GSOH bracket puts 2007 up against 1972.
Summaries from Wikipedia:
1974 - In qualifying for the opening round in Argentina, Ronnie Peterson took pole in his Lotus ahead of Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari and Emerson Fittipaldi's McLaren. Peterson led at the start, whereas fellow front-row starter Regazzoni spun, causing chaos. Fittipaldi was hit by teammate Mike Hailwood and lost two laps while repairing his car, and James Hunt inherited second whereas Peter Revson, who started fourth, retired in the chaos. Hunt spun before the first lap was over, and second place went to Carlos Reutemann's Brabham.
Reutemann passed Peterson on the third lap, and soon the Swede began to fade badly with brake problems. As a result, Mike Hailwood and Denny Hulme in their McLarens were second and third, ahead of Jacky Ickx and Niki Lauda in the second Lotus and Ferrari. Hulme, Ickx and Lauda all passed Hailwood and then Ickx suffered a puncture mid-race and had to pit. Regazzoni was recovering from his spin, and passed Hailwood soon after. Reutemann continued to lead until his engine began to misfire, with Hulme closing in and taking the lead on the penultimate lap. Hulme went on to win, with Lauda and Regazzoni completing the podium after Reutemann ran out of fuel on the last lap.
Fittipaldi took a popular home pole in Brazil, beating Reutemann and Lauda. Reutemann, eager to make up after his bad luck in Argentina, took the lead at the start, with Peterson up to second. Reutemann led early on, but was passed by both Peterson and Fittipaldi on lap 4. Peterson battled with former Lotus teammate Fittipaldi for the next 12 laps, until he suffered a slow puncture. Fittipaldi passed him and took the lead, whereas Peterson dropped backwards. Fittipaldi went on to take a home victory, with Regazzoni getting second and Ickx third.
The field went to South Africa after a two-month break. Lauda took pole position, with Carlos Pace's Surtees also on the front row. Arturo Merzario in the Iso-Marlboro team was an amazing third on the grid. At the start, Lauda took the lead, whereas surprise packages Pace and Merzario were soon swamped by the field. Reutemann was up to second, and he took the lead from Lauda on the tenth lap, and he would remain ahead for the rest of the afternoon. Regazzoni was third ahead of Fittipaldi and Hailwood, but soon Jean-Pierre Beltoise's BRM soon passed the two McLarens, as Fittipaldi began to drop back. Lauda and Regazzoni both retired very late in the race when their engines blew up, and thus Beltoise and Hailwood completed the podium behind Reutemann.
The first European round of the championship was in Spain, and it was Lauda who took pole ahead of Peterson and Regazzoni. On race day, the track was wet but drying, and Peterson was able to beat Lauda off the line. Regazzoni and Ickx followed. The Lotuses and the Ferraris battled until Peterson's engine failed and Ickx lost a wheel which was not fastened properly after the stop for slicks. This left Lauda to take his first career win, and Regazzoni to complete a Ferrari 1–2, with Fittipaldi third.
The next race was in Belgium, and Regazzoni continued Ferrari's streak of poles, and Jody Scheckter's Tyrrell taking second with Lauda third. Regazzoni led in the early stages, with Fittipaldi climbing up to second in the first lap. Later, Lauda passed Scheckter for third, and this became second when Regazzoni went to the grass after an incident with a backmarker. Fittipaldi thus won the race, from Lauda, with Scheckter third after Regazzoni suffered fuel feed problems on the last lap.
In the streets of Monaco, Lauda and Regazzoni took the front row for Ferrari, with Peterson's Lotus behind them in third. The Ferraris motored away, with Regazzoni leading after beating his teammate off the line, with Peterson down in sixth. Regazzoni led until he made a mistake and spun off, rejoining fifth. Lauda was now leading Jean-Pierre Jarier's Shadow, Peterson and Scheckter. Peterson disposed of Jarier, and took the lead when Lauda's engine blew up. Peterson went on to win, with Scheckter taking second from Jarier.
The Tyrrells were dominant in qualifying, with Patrick Depailler taking the pole from Jody Scheckter, with the Ferraris of Lauda and Regazzoni on the second row. Scheckter passed his teammate to take the lead at the start, with Peterson gaining three places to jump up to second. It was all to no avail, because he retired in the opening laps with a driveshaft failure. The Tyrrells were now up front, with the Ferraris behind them. The gearboxes of both Ferraris failed and both retired, promoting James Hunt in the Hesketh to third. Scheckther duly won, with Depailler completing a dominant 1–2 for Tyrrell, with Hunt third.
The Netherlands was host to the eighth round, and Lauda took his fourth pole of the year, with teammate Regazzoni alongside, and the McLarens of Fittipaldi and Hailwood next up. Lauda led from the start, will Hailwood jumping up to second. But Regazzoni took only two laps to regain second, and Hailwood was soon passed by Depailler and Fittipaldi. Depailler held third until he struggled with oversteer, and so Fittipaldi was through. Lauda won, with Regazzoni making it a 1–2 for Ferrari, with Fittipaldi getting third.
Lauda took pole again in France, with Peterson in second, and Tom Pryce in the Shadow a surprising third. Lauda and Peterson maintained their positions at the start, whereas Pryce collided with Hunt and Carlos Reutemann, with all three retiring as Regazzoni took third. Lauda and Peterson battled it out in the early stages, but soon Lauda began to suffer from a vibration and Peterson was able to pass him and pull away. Peterson went on to win, with Lauda managing second, and Regazzoni third.
Great Britain was host to the tenth round of the championship, and Lauda surprised no one by taking pole, with Peterson again alongside and Scheckter third. At the start, Lauda led, whereas Peterson dropped behind Scheckter and Regazzoni. The order of Lauda, Scheckter, Regazzoni and Peterson remained unchanged for the first half of the race until Regazzoni and Peterson had to pit for new tyres after running over debris. Late in the race, leader Lauda suffered a puncture, and the lead went to Scheckter. Scheckter duly won, with Fittipaldi getting second and Jacky Ickx third.
As a result, with exactly two-thirds of the championship gone, the championship was an extremely close four-way battle. Lauda led with 38 points, but he was only a point ahead of Fittipaldi, with Regazzoni and Scheckter lurking three points behind.
The third part of the championship started in Germany at the 14.2 mile (22.8 km) Nürburgring circuit, and Lauda took pole as usual, and Regazzoni ensured that Ferrari locked out the front row, with other contenders Fittipaldi third and Scheckter fourth. Regazzoni took the lead at the start, whereas Lauda and Scheckter collided on the first lap at the Nord Kurve with the former retiring, and the latter continuing unscathed in second. Fittipaldi suffered a puncture and had to pit. Regazzoni went on to win and take the championship lead, with Scheckter second and Reutemann third.
Lauda took his eighth pole position of the championship, and fifth consecutive, in his home round in Austria with Reutemann and Fittipaldi second and third on the grid. Reutemann got the better of Lauda at the start, with Regazzoni fourth behind the second Brabham of Carlos Pace, and Fittipaldi down to seventh behind Scheckter. Scheckter retired with a blown engine, whereas Regazzoni soon passed Pace. Lauda soon dropped down the order with a misfiring engine and soon retired. Regazzoni was second, and Fittipaldi was third after passing Pace. However. Fittipaldi's engine also blew up, and Regazzoni dropped back and ultimately had to bit with a slow puncture. Reutemann took the victory, with Denny Hulme second and James Hunt third. Regazzoni recovered to finish fifth and get two points, whereas his other rivals scored none.
The Ferrari fans were happy to see Lauda take pole for the Italian GP, with the Brabhams of Reutemann and Pace following him on the grid. The start did not change the positions, with Lauda leading Reutemann and Pace. Soon, Regazzoni passed both the Brabhams to and then Reutemann retired with a gearbox failure and Pace had to pit with tyre troubles. This left Lauda leading Regazzoni for the perfect Ferrari 1–2, a long way ahead of third-placed Peterson. That was not to last as Lauda retired with a water leak, handing the lead to Regazzoni but Regazzoni's engine failed 10 laps later. Peterson took the lead and won, holding off Fittipaldi and Scheckter finished third to close up the championship.
The penultimate round of the championship was in Canada, and Fittipaldi took pole, just beating Lauda with Scheckter third. Lauda took Fittipaldi off the line and led, with Regazzoni up to third ahead of Scheckter, but Scheckter retook the position on the second lap. The four contenders were occupying the first four spots – Lauda leading Fittipaldi, Scheckter and Regazzoni. But Scheckter crashed after suffering a brake failure, and then Lauda crashed out late in the race after running over debris, ending his championship hopes. Fittipaldi won the race from Regazzoni, with Peterson completing the podium.
This meant that Fittipaldi and Regazzoni were level on points into the last race, with Scheckter the outsider seven points behind.
The championship decider was to be held at the United States. Reutemann took pole with Hunt alongside on the front row, with home hero Mario Andretti third in a Parnelli. Scheckter was sixth, whereas Fittipaldi and Regazzoni were eighth and ninth. Reutemann converted his pole to a lead at the start, with Hunt second and Pace third after Andretti stalled. Behind Lauda was Scheckter, Fittipaldi and Regazzoni running together. The front three quickly pulled away, as Lauda held up Scheckter and Fittipaldi in an attempt to help Regazzoni. However, Regazzoni was struggling with handling problems and dropping back down the field. He pitted for tyres twice but found it to be no avail, and he was two laps down. Lauda and Scheckter both retired in the latter half of the race, promoting Fittipaldi to fourth. Pace took second from Hunt with four laps left, as the Englishman was suffering from fading brakes. The race was won by Reutemann, with Pace ensuring that Brabham cap off the season with a 1–2, and Hunt was third.
Emerson Fittipaldi finished fourth to ensure that he was the World Champion, beating Regazzoni by three points.
The race was marred by the death of young Austrian Helmut Koinigg when his car crashed into the wall after a puncture on the 10th lap. The barrier which the car hit split on impact, and Koinigg was decapitated.
2018 - The championship started in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix. The race concluded with a victory for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who used a timely virtual safety car period – triggered by the stricken Haas of Romain Grosjean – to pass Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton, after which Vettel successfully defended his position until the finish. Kimi Räikkönen finished third in the other Ferrari ahead of Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo. McLaren ended the first race of their partnership with Renault with a fifth and ninth place for Alonso and Vandoorne respectively. Max Verstappen finished sixth after an early spin ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. Valtteri Bottas was eighth, having started fifteenth when he took a penalty for a gearbox change after a heavy crash in qualifying. Carlos Sainz Jr. completed the points-scoring positions in tenth. Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin both made their competitive débuts for Sauber and Williams respectively. Leclerc finished thirteenth while Sirotkin retired with a brake failure.
Vettel then won from pole at the next round in Bahrain, holding off a late charge from Bottas to win by seven-tenths of a second. Hamilton finished third despite a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change and contact with Verstappen on the second lap.
However, in China, Vettel's winning run was broken, with Ricciardo's 2 stop strategy helping the Australian to his sixth career victory, ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Ricciardo pitted for a new set of softs with 20 laps to go under safety car while the leaders stayed out on their used set of mediums, he then fought his way past both Ferraris and Mercedes to the lead.
Hamilton took his first win of the year in Azerbaijan and with it, the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Räikkönen finished 2nd while Sergio Pérez claimed 3rd. With 10 laps to go, Bottas was leading (but still needing to make a pitstop) followed by Vettel and Hamilton. When the Red Bulls crashed they brought out the safety car. Bottas pitted under safety car and came out still leading but a puncture on the penultimate lap caused him to retire. Vettel, who was second behind him at the restart, locked up on cold tyres at turn 1 and went wide, dropping behind the remaining top three.
In Spain, Hamilton had taken pole position. However, the first lap saw the safety car deployed when Haas's Romain Grosjean spun off at turn 3. He had spun back onto the track, but his spinning rear tyres caused a plume of smoke to bellow, which Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso and Nico Hülkenberg of Renault got caught in and led to a 3-car retirement. In the end, Hamilton won comfortably in Spain, extending his lead to seventeen points. Bottas finished second while Verstappen finished third, his first podium of the season.
Ricciardo took pole in Monaco and won the event despite developing an engine problem mid-race that left him severely down on power. Vettel finished second and Hamilton finished 3rd. Vettel closed his points deficit to Hamilton, while Ricciardo gained two spots in the Drivers' Championship to be third overall.
In Canada, Vettel won from pole taking the world championship lead by one point from Hamilton. Bottas finished 2nd for the fourth time this season as Verstappen finished third, his qualifying position. The race result was counted back to the standings at the end of lap 68 (of 70) after the chequered flag was waved a lap early in error – although this did not impact the top 10 standings. The fastest lap of the race however, was affected. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo had set two fastest laps on laps 69 and 70, but because the chequered flag mistakenly waved early and the results were taken from lap 68, the fastest lap went to Max Verstappen, who had set it back on lap 65.
Hamilton took pole position and victory (his third of the season) in the returning French Grand Prix, taking the world championship lead back with 14 points, with Vettel finishing only 5th after a first corner crash with Bottas. Verstappen finished second, taking advantage of the Vettel–Bottas crash. Räikkönen finished third, passing Ricciardo in the closing laps of the race.
In Austria, Bottas started the race on pole, followed by Hamilton and Räikkönen. However, in the race, both Mercedes suffered from technical problems and neither one was able to finish the race. Ricciardo also retired from the race. Verstappen won, followed by Räikkönen in 2nd and Vettel in 3rd. Haas took full advantage of the Mercedes and Ricciardo retirements and finished 4th (Grosjean) and 5th (Magnussen). Vettel re-took the lead of the championship by 1 point, following Hamilton's retirement.
At his home race in Great Britain, Hamilton took pole on his final flying lap, with the two Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen both within a tenth of his time. However, he dropped down to 18th on the first lap after contact with Räikkönen sent him into a spin. Two safety car periods late in the race bunched the field up, one for a single car crash involving Ericsson and the other after contact between Grosjean and Sainz. Vettel passed Bottas for the lead with 5 laps to go to take his fourth win of the season and extend his championship lead. Hamilton recovered from his first lap crash to take second ahead of Räikkönen.
In Germany, Vettel took his fifth pole of the season on home turf. He led the race until lap 52 when he made a mistake at turn 13 and crashed into the wall following a small rain shower, forcing him to retire. The incident triggered a safety car, which saw the leading cars of Bottas and Räikkönen pit for new tyres. Meanwhile, Hamilton took the lead of the race after starting 14th having made one less pit stop. After the safety car restart, Hamilton led Bottas home in a 1–2 for Mercedes on home soil with Räikkönen completing the podium for Ferrari.
In Hungary, Hamilton started from pole after a soaking Q3 and won the race, with Vettel and Räikkönen completing the podium.
The season resumed in Belgium, after the mid-season break. Hamilton started from pole but lost the lead to title rival Vettel on the first lap after a straight-line high-speed pass. Vettel eventually won the race with Hamilton second and Verstappen completing the podium with third. Also notable was a first-corner crash that saw a lock-up by Hülkenberg send Alonso over the top of Leclerc, while Räikkönen and Ricciardo had their own incident that eventually ended both drivers' races. The race was almost down to 18 cars due to the original Sahara Force India team having gone into administration earlier on, but a new Racing Point Force India team (whose owners includes Williams driver Lance Stroll's father Lawrence) was accepted to the grid in time for the race. Because technically it was a new entry into the championship of a new team, Force India had to start from scratch in the Constructors' Championship, but drivers Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon were allowed to keep the points they had earned in the Drivers' Championship. Racing Point Force India qualified 3rd and 4th on the grid during qualifying, and finished 5th and 6th in the race.
In Italy, on Ferrari's home turf, Räikkönen took the fastest ever pole position in F1 history until the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Vettel. There was a first lap incident between Hamilton and Vettel which left the latter struggling as he could only manage 4th. During a nail-biting race, Hamilton overtook Räikkönen on lap 45, thus winning his sixth race of the season, with Räikkönen finishing second and Bottas finishing third after a collision with Verstappen. Sergey Sirotkin scored his first and only point in the season by finishing 10th after the disqualification of Romain Grosjean – thus ensuring that every driver who entered the championship managed to score points, which happened for the first time in the series' history.
In Singapore, a track where Mercedes traditionally struggled, Hamilton took pole position with the fastest lap which he described as "magical" and as one of the best laps he's ever done. Hamilton would go on to win the race with title rival Vettel finishing third behind Verstappen. The race also saw both Kevin Magnussen and Haas get their first fastest lap.
In Russia, Bottas started from pole and was the virtual race leader for the first half of the race but obeyed team orders and allowed Hamilton to overtake him on lap 26. This allowed Hamilton to win the race followed by Bottas and Vettel.
In Japan, Hamilton took the pole which he then converted into victory after leading every lap, he was followed by Bottas in second and Max Verstappen in third. This was Hamilton's 80th pole position and Bottas's 30th podium finish.
At the United States Grand Prix Hamilton could win the world championship if he outscored Vettel by 8 points or more. It was Hamilton who took pole with Räikkönen starting second. Vettel actually qualified second but had to start fifth after being penalised for not slowing enough during a red flag period in first practice. The race was won by Räikkönen, his first win in 114 grand prix which was a new record. Verstappen finished second and Hamilton third, as Vettel finished fourth. Hamilton only outscored Vettel by three points meaning he had failed to wrap up the title on his first attempt.
In Mexico, Vettel needed to win the Grand Prix and Hamilton 8th or lower for the Championship to remain in contention. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo secured his latest pole position, but would eventually retire from the Grand Prix with an engine failure, his eighth failure to finish during the season. His teammate, Max Verstappen won by 17.3 seconds while Vettel came in second place. Hamilton finished in 4th place, which was enough to secure his fifth Drivers' Championship.
In Brazil, the penultimate race of the season, Ferrari needed to outscore Mercedes by at least 13 points to remain in contention for the Constructors' Championship. Hamilton started from pole but lost the lead to Max Verstappen on lap 40 as Mercedes had to turn his engine down to prevent failure. Verstappen then looked set to win the race, but was spun around on lap 44 by the Force India of Esteban Ocon who was attempting to unlap himself (an incident which led to a shoving match during driver weight checks after the race). Verstappen's spin allowed Hamilton to retake the lead and subsequently win the race. Räikkönen finished third for Ferrari while his teammate Vettel finished sixth after a sensor problem and a failed gamble on tyre strategy compromised his race. This, combined with Hamilton's win and Bottas's fifth-place finish, allowed Mercedes to clinch their fifth successive Constructors' Championship.
In Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season, the safety car was brought out on the first lap when Renault's Nico Hülkenberg barrel-rolled into the barricade at turn 9 after accidentally colliding with Grosjean. In his final race for Ferrari, Raikkonen retired on lap 7 when his engine failed, triggering the virtual safety car. In the end, Hamilton won with Vettel finishing second, and the two Red Bulls third and fourth. After the race, Hamilton and Vettel flanked the retiring Fernando Alonso on the post-race lap, and all three drivers performed synchronized "donuts" on the finish straight.
Summaries from Wikipedia:
1974 - In qualifying for the opening round in Argentina, Ronnie Peterson took pole in his Lotus ahead of Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari and Emerson Fittipaldi's McLaren. Peterson led at the start, whereas fellow front-row starter Regazzoni spun, causing chaos. Fittipaldi was hit by teammate Mike Hailwood and lost two laps while repairing his car, and James Hunt inherited second whereas Peter Revson, who started fourth, retired in the chaos. Hunt spun before the first lap was over, and second place went to Carlos Reutemann's Brabham.
Reutemann passed Peterson on the third lap, and soon the Swede began to fade badly with brake problems. As a result, Mike Hailwood and Denny Hulme in their McLarens were second and third, ahead of Jacky Ickx and Niki Lauda in the second Lotus and Ferrari. Hulme, Ickx and Lauda all passed Hailwood and then Ickx suffered a puncture mid-race and had to pit. Regazzoni was recovering from his spin, and passed Hailwood soon after. Reutemann continued to lead until his engine began to misfire, with Hulme closing in and taking the lead on the penultimate lap. Hulme went on to win, with Lauda and Regazzoni completing the podium after Reutemann ran out of fuel on the last lap.
Fittipaldi took a popular home pole in Brazil, beating Reutemann and Lauda. Reutemann, eager to make up after his bad luck in Argentina, took the lead at the start, with Peterson up to second. Reutemann led early on, but was passed by both Peterson and Fittipaldi on lap 4. Peterson battled with former Lotus teammate Fittipaldi for the next 12 laps, until he suffered a slow puncture. Fittipaldi passed him and took the lead, whereas Peterson dropped backwards. Fittipaldi went on to take a home victory, with Regazzoni getting second and Ickx third.
The field went to South Africa after a two-month break. Lauda took pole position, with Carlos Pace's Surtees also on the front row. Arturo Merzario in the Iso-Marlboro team was an amazing third on the grid. At the start, Lauda took the lead, whereas surprise packages Pace and Merzario were soon swamped by the field. Reutemann was up to second, and he took the lead from Lauda on the tenth lap, and he would remain ahead for the rest of the afternoon. Regazzoni was third ahead of Fittipaldi and Hailwood, but soon Jean-Pierre Beltoise's BRM soon passed the two McLarens, as Fittipaldi began to drop back. Lauda and Regazzoni both retired very late in the race when their engines blew up, and thus Beltoise and Hailwood completed the podium behind Reutemann.
The first European round of the championship was in Spain, and it was Lauda who took pole ahead of Peterson and Regazzoni. On race day, the track was wet but drying, and Peterson was able to beat Lauda off the line. Regazzoni and Ickx followed. The Lotuses and the Ferraris battled until Peterson's engine failed and Ickx lost a wheel which was not fastened properly after the stop for slicks. This left Lauda to take his first career win, and Regazzoni to complete a Ferrari 1–2, with Fittipaldi third.
The next race was in Belgium, and Regazzoni continued Ferrari's streak of poles, and Jody Scheckter's Tyrrell taking second with Lauda third. Regazzoni led in the early stages, with Fittipaldi climbing up to second in the first lap. Later, Lauda passed Scheckter for third, and this became second when Regazzoni went to the grass after an incident with a backmarker. Fittipaldi thus won the race, from Lauda, with Scheckter third after Regazzoni suffered fuel feed problems on the last lap.
In the streets of Monaco, Lauda and Regazzoni took the front row for Ferrari, with Peterson's Lotus behind them in third. The Ferraris motored away, with Regazzoni leading after beating his teammate off the line, with Peterson down in sixth. Regazzoni led until he made a mistake and spun off, rejoining fifth. Lauda was now leading Jean-Pierre Jarier's Shadow, Peterson and Scheckter. Peterson disposed of Jarier, and took the lead when Lauda's engine blew up. Peterson went on to win, with Scheckter taking second from Jarier.
The Tyrrells were dominant in qualifying, with Patrick Depailler taking the pole from Jody Scheckter, with the Ferraris of Lauda and Regazzoni on the second row. Scheckter passed his teammate to take the lead at the start, with Peterson gaining three places to jump up to second. It was all to no avail, because he retired in the opening laps with a driveshaft failure. The Tyrrells were now up front, with the Ferraris behind them. The gearboxes of both Ferraris failed and both retired, promoting James Hunt in the Hesketh to third. Scheckther duly won, with Depailler completing a dominant 1–2 for Tyrrell, with Hunt third.
The Netherlands was host to the eighth round, and Lauda took his fourth pole of the year, with teammate Regazzoni alongside, and the McLarens of Fittipaldi and Hailwood next up. Lauda led from the start, will Hailwood jumping up to second. But Regazzoni took only two laps to regain second, and Hailwood was soon passed by Depailler and Fittipaldi. Depailler held third until he struggled with oversteer, and so Fittipaldi was through. Lauda won, with Regazzoni making it a 1–2 for Ferrari, with Fittipaldi getting third.
Lauda took pole again in France, with Peterson in second, and Tom Pryce in the Shadow a surprising third. Lauda and Peterson maintained their positions at the start, whereas Pryce collided with Hunt and Carlos Reutemann, with all three retiring as Regazzoni took third. Lauda and Peterson battled it out in the early stages, but soon Lauda began to suffer from a vibration and Peterson was able to pass him and pull away. Peterson went on to win, with Lauda managing second, and Regazzoni third.
Great Britain was host to the tenth round of the championship, and Lauda surprised no one by taking pole, with Peterson again alongside and Scheckter third. At the start, Lauda led, whereas Peterson dropped behind Scheckter and Regazzoni. The order of Lauda, Scheckter, Regazzoni and Peterson remained unchanged for the first half of the race until Regazzoni and Peterson had to pit for new tyres after running over debris. Late in the race, leader Lauda suffered a puncture, and the lead went to Scheckter. Scheckter duly won, with Fittipaldi getting second and Jacky Ickx third.
As a result, with exactly two-thirds of the championship gone, the championship was an extremely close four-way battle. Lauda led with 38 points, but he was only a point ahead of Fittipaldi, with Regazzoni and Scheckter lurking three points behind.
The third part of the championship started in Germany at the 14.2 mile (22.8 km) Nürburgring circuit, and Lauda took pole as usual, and Regazzoni ensured that Ferrari locked out the front row, with other contenders Fittipaldi third and Scheckter fourth. Regazzoni took the lead at the start, whereas Lauda and Scheckter collided on the first lap at the Nord Kurve with the former retiring, and the latter continuing unscathed in second. Fittipaldi suffered a puncture and had to pit. Regazzoni went on to win and take the championship lead, with Scheckter second and Reutemann third.
Lauda took his eighth pole position of the championship, and fifth consecutive, in his home round in Austria with Reutemann and Fittipaldi second and third on the grid. Reutemann got the better of Lauda at the start, with Regazzoni fourth behind the second Brabham of Carlos Pace, and Fittipaldi down to seventh behind Scheckter. Scheckter retired with a blown engine, whereas Regazzoni soon passed Pace. Lauda soon dropped down the order with a misfiring engine and soon retired. Regazzoni was second, and Fittipaldi was third after passing Pace. However. Fittipaldi's engine also blew up, and Regazzoni dropped back and ultimately had to bit with a slow puncture. Reutemann took the victory, with Denny Hulme second and James Hunt third. Regazzoni recovered to finish fifth and get two points, whereas his other rivals scored none.
The Ferrari fans were happy to see Lauda take pole for the Italian GP, with the Brabhams of Reutemann and Pace following him on the grid. The start did not change the positions, with Lauda leading Reutemann and Pace. Soon, Regazzoni passed both the Brabhams to and then Reutemann retired with a gearbox failure and Pace had to pit with tyre troubles. This left Lauda leading Regazzoni for the perfect Ferrari 1–2, a long way ahead of third-placed Peterson. That was not to last as Lauda retired with a water leak, handing the lead to Regazzoni but Regazzoni's engine failed 10 laps later. Peterson took the lead and won, holding off Fittipaldi and Scheckter finished third to close up the championship.
The penultimate round of the championship was in Canada, and Fittipaldi took pole, just beating Lauda with Scheckter third. Lauda took Fittipaldi off the line and led, with Regazzoni up to third ahead of Scheckter, but Scheckter retook the position on the second lap. The four contenders were occupying the first four spots – Lauda leading Fittipaldi, Scheckter and Regazzoni. But Scheckter crashed after suffering a brake failure, and then Lauda crashed out late in the race after running over debris, ending his championship hopes. Fittipaldi won the race from Regazzoni, with Peterson completing the podium.
This meant that Fittipaldi and Regazzoni were level on points into the last race, with Scheckter the outsider seven points behind.
The championship decider was to be held at the United States. Reutemann took pole with Hunt alongside on the front row, with home hero Mario Andretti third in a Parnelli. Scheckter was sixth, whereas Fittipaldi and Regazzoni were eighth and ninth. Reutemann converted his pole to a lead at the start, with Hunt second and Pace third after Andretti stalled. Behind Lauda was Scheckter, Fittipaldi and Regazzoni running together. The front three quickly pulled away, as Lauda held up Scheckter and Fittipaldi in an attempt to help Regazzoni. However, Regazzoni was struggling with handling problems and dropping back down the field. He pitted for tyres twice but found it to be no avail, and he was two laps down. Lauda and Scheckter both retired in the latter half of the race, promoting Fittipaldi to fourth. Pace took second from Hunt with four laps left, as the Englishman was suffering from fading brakes. The race was won by Reutemann, with Pace ensuring that Brabham cap off the season with a 1–2, and Hunt was third.
Emerson Fittipaldi finished fourth to ensure that he was the World Champion, beating Regazzoni by three points.
The race was marred by the death of young Austrian Helmut Koinigg when his car crashed into the wall after a puncture on the 10th lap. The barrier which the car hit split on impact, and Koinigg was decapitated.
2018 - The championship started in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix. The race concluded with a victory for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who used a timely virtual safety car period – triggered by the stricken Haas of Romain Grosjean – to pass Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton, after which Vettel successfully defended his position until the finish. Kimi Räikkönen finished third in the other Ferrari ahead of Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo. McLaren ended the first race of their partnership with Renault with a fifth and ninth place for Alonso and Vandoorne respectively. Max Verstappen finished sixth after an early spin ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. Valtteri Bottas was eighth, having started fifteenth when he took a penalty for a gearbox change after a heavy crash in qualifying. Carlos Sainz Jr. completed the points-scoring positions in tenth. Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin both made their competitive débuts for Sauber and Williams respectively. Leclerc finished thirteenth while Sirotkin retired with a brake failure.
Vettel then won from pole at the next round in Bahrain, holding off a late charge from Bottas to win by seven-tenths of a second. Hamilton finished third despite a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change and contact with Verstappen on the second lap.
However, in China, Vettel's winning run was broken, with Ricciardo's 2 stop strategy helping the Australian to his sixth career victory, ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Ricciardo pitted for a new set of softs with 20 laps to go under safety car while the leaders stayed out on their used set of mediums, he then fought his way past both Ferraris and Mercedes to the lead.
Hamilton took his first win of the year in Azerbaijan and with it, the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Räikkönen finished 2nd while Sergio Pérez claimed 3rd. With 10 laps to go, Bottas was leading (but still needing to make a pitstop) followed by Vettel and Hamilton. When the Red Bulls crashed they brought out the safety car. Bottas pitted under safety car and came out still leading but a puncture on the penultimate lap caused him to retire. Vettel, who was second behind him at the restart, locked up on cold tyres at turn 1 and went wide, dropping behind the remaining top three.
In Spain, Hamilton had taken pole position. However, the first lap saw the safety car deployed when Haas's Romain Grosjean spun off at turn 3. He had spun back onto the track, but his spinning rear tyres caused a plume of smoke to bellow, which Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso and Nico Hülkenberg of Renault got caught in and led to a 3-car retirement. In the end, Hamilton won comfortably in Spain, extending his lead to seventeen points. Bottas finished second while Verstappen finished third, his first podium of the season.
Ricciardo took pole in Monaco and won the event despite developing an engine problem mid-race that left him severely down on power. Vettel finished second and Hamilton finished 3rd. Vettel closed his points deficit to Hamilton, while Ricciardo gained two spots in the Drivers' Championship to be third overall.
In Canada, Vettel won from pole taking the world championship lead by one point from Hamilton. Bottas finished 2nd for the fourth time this season as Verstappen finished third, his qualifying position. The race result was counted back to the standings at the end of lap 68 (of 70) after the chequered flag was waved a lap early in error – although this did not impact the top 10 standings. The fastest lap of the race however, was affected. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo had set two fastest laps on laps 69 and 70, but because the chequered flag mistakenly waved early and the results were taken from lap 68, the fastest lap went to Max Verstappen, who had set it back on lap 65.
Hamilton took pole position and victory (his third of the season) in the returning French Grand Prix, taking the world championship lead back with 14 points, with Vettel finishing only 5th after a first corner crash with Bottas. Verstappen finished second, taking advantage of the Vettel–Bottas crash. Räikkönen finished third, passing Ricciardo in the closing laps of the race.
In Austria, Bottas started the race on pole, followed by Hamilton and Räikkönen. However, in the race, both Mercedes suffered from technical problems and neither one was able to finish the race. Ricciardo also retired from the race. Verstappen won, followed by Räikkönen in 2nd and Vettel in 3rd. Haas took full advantage of the Mercedes and Ricciardo retirements and finished 4th (Grosjean) and 5th (Magnussen). Vettel re-took the lead of the championship by 1 point, following Hamilton's retirement.
At his home race in Great Britain, Hamilton took pole on his final flying lap, with the two Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen both within a tenth of his time. However, he dropped down to 18th on the first lap after contact with Räikkönen sent him into a spin. Two safety car periods late in the race bunched the field up, one for a single car crash involving Ericsson and the other after contact between Grosjean and Sainz. Vettel passed Bottas for the lead with 5 laps to go to take his fourth win of the season and extend his championship lead. Hamilton recovered from his first lap crash to take second ahead of Räikkönen.
In Germany, Vettel took his fifth pole of the season on home turf. He led the race until lap 52 when he made a mistake at turn 13 and crashed into the wall following a small rain shower, forcing him to retire. The incident triggered a safety car, which saw the leading cars of Bottas and Räikkönen pit for new tyres. Meanwhile, Hamilton took the lead of the race after starting 14th having made one less pit stop. After the safety car restart, Hamilton led Bottas home in a 1–2 for Mercedes on home soil with Räikkönen completing the podium for Ferrari.
In Hungary, Hamilton started from pole after a soaking Q3 and won the race, with Vettel and Räikkönen completing the podium.
The season resumed in Belgium, after the mid-season break. Hamilton started from pole but lost the lead to title rival Vettel on the first lap after a straight-line high-speed pass. Vettel eventually won the race with Hamilton second and Verstappen completing the podium with third. Also notable was a first-corner crash that saw a lock-up by Hülkenberg send Alonso over the top of Leclerc, while Räikkönen and Ricciardo had their own incident that eventually ended both drivers' races. The race was almost down to 18 cars due to the original Sahara Force India team having gone into administration earlier on, but a new Racing Point Force India team (whose owners includes Williams driver Lance Stroll's father Lawrence) was accepted to the grid in time for the race. Because technically it was a new entry into the championship of a new team, Force India had to start from scratch in the Constructors' Championship, but drivers Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon were allowed to keep the points they had earned in the Drivers' Championship. Racing Point Force India qualified 3rd and 4th on the grid during qualifying, and finished 5th and 6th in the race.
In Italy, on Ferrari's home turf, Räikkönen took the fastest ever pole position in F1 history until the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Vettel. There was a first lap incident between Hamilton and Vettel which left the latter struggling as he could only manage 4th. During a nail-biting race, Hamilton overtook Räikkönen on lap 45, thus winning his sixth race of the season, with Räikkönen finishing second and Bottas finishing third after a collision with Verstappen. Sergey Sirotkin scored his first and only point in the season by finishing 10th after the disqualification of Romain Grosjean – thus ensuring that every driver who entered the championship managed to score points, which happened for the first time in the series' history.
In Singapore, a track where Mercedes traditionally struggled, Hamilton took pole position with the fastest lap which he described as "magical" and as one of the best laps he's ever done. Hamilton would go on to win the race with title rival Vettel finishing third behind Verstappen. The race also saw both Kevin Magnussen and Haas get their first fastest lap.
In Russia, Bottas started from pole and was the virtual race leader for the first half of the race but obeyed team orders and allowed Hamilton to overtake him on lap 26. This allowed Hamilton to win the race followed by Bottas and Vettel.
In Japan, Hamilton took the pole which he then converted into victory after leading every lap, he was followed by Bottas in second and Max Verstappen in third. This was Hamilton's 80th pole position and Bottas's 30th podium finish.
At the United States Grand Prix Hamilton could win the world championship if he outscored Vettel by 8 points or more. It was Hamilton who took pole with Räikkönen starting second. Vettel actually qualified second but had to start fifth after being penalised for not slowing enough during a red flag period in first practice. The race was won by Räikkönen, his first win in 114 grand prix which was a new record. Verstappen finished second and Hamilton third, as Vettel finished fourth. Hamilton only outscored Vettel by three points meaning he had failed to wrap up the title on his first attempt.
In Mexico, Vettel needed to win the Grand Prix and Hamilton 8th or lower for the Championship to remain in contention. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo secured his latest pole position, but would eventually retire from the Grand Prix with an engine failure, his eighth failure to finish during the season. His teammate, Max Verstappen won by 17.3 seconds while Vettel came in second place. Hamilton finished in 4th place, which was enough to secure his fifth Drivers' Championship.
In Brazil, the penultimate race of the season, Ferrari needed to outscore Mercedes by at least 13 points to remain in contention for the Constructors' Championship. Hamilton started from pole but lost the lead to Max Verstappen on lap 40 as Mercedes had to turn his engine down to prevent failure. Verstappen then looked set to win the race, but was spun around on lap 44 by the Force India of Esteban Ocon who was attempting to unlap himself (an incident which led to a shoving match during driver weight checks after the race). Verstappen's spin allowed Hamilton to retake the lead and subsequently win the race. Räikkönen finished third for Ferrari while his teammate Vettel finished sixth after a sensor problem and a failed gamble on tyre strategy compromised his race. This, combined with Hamilton's win and Bottas's fifth-place finish, allowed Mercedes to clinch their fifth successive Constructors' Championship.
In Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season, the safety car was brought out on the first lap when Renault's Nico Hülkenberg barrel-rolled into the barricade at turn 9 after accidentally colliding with Grosjean. In his final race for Ferrari, Raikkonen retired on lap 7 when his engine failed, triggering the virtual safety car. In the end, Hamilton won with Vettel finishing second, and the two Red Bulls third and fourth. After the race, Hamilton and Vettel flanked the retiring Fernando Alonso on the post-race lap, and all three drivers performed synchronized "donuts" on the finish straight.