Mixed 2018 for Vettel?

2018 has been an emotional roller coaster for Ferrari fans. From the highs of Canada to the lows of Suzuka, Vettel and his passionate fans have been through it all. Let's start in Melbourne where the German seemed to be on the back foot as his title rival, Lewis Hamilton, took pole by an astounding 0.6 seconds. Hamilton looked to have it in the bag but a strategical blunder from Mercedes saw Vettel take the first win of the season.

There have also been the races where we saw Vettel as a victim or responsible for mistakes and silly overtakes. Italy this year was a real eye opener for the championship as we saw yet another mistake made by Vettel which arguably cost him the championship. The most important mistake made by Vettel however, was at Hockenheim. Vettel fans would have loved to seen the German win his home grand prix but it wasn't meant to be. On lap 53, Vettel had been leading the whole race but what looked like a simple lock up, saw the Ferrari driver in the wall and out of contention of the German GP. More salt was rubbed into the wounds of Vettel fans as Vettel's title rival, Lewis Hamilton took the win which extended his championship lead by another 25 points.

Vettel winning in Bahrain.

Vettel winning in Bahrain.

Don't get me wrong though, Mercedes and Hamilton have also had their share of bad luck. Austria was an abysmal race for both Mercedes drivers as they both had mechanical issues rendering them out of the race. Surprisingly, Max Verstappen took the win that race, with Raikkonen in 2nd and Vettel in 3rd. There have been instances where Bottas helped out Hamilton in order to establish a more stable championship lead. In Germany, Bottas was told not to attack Lewis as he needed to get maximum points to keep his lead to a maximum. After eventually winning the race, many people questioned whether the result would have been the same if Bottas hadn't attacked Hamilton for a couple of laps. Perhaps the most controversial moment of 2018 was when Bottas was leading the race in Sochi and was given team orders to let Lewis past. The Finn complied and let the Brit past. Many were skeptical of Mercedes decision to swap their drivers around but the reasoning for this move was more than obvious, to extend the championship lead over Vettel. Since 2017 , we have seen Vettel and Hamilton trade punches throughout the season, although Hamilton came out on top in 2017, Vettel was adamant to win the 2018 title. The German missed the 2018 running of the Race Of Champions event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to fully devote his time and effort to winning the world championship this year.

Comiserations for Ferrari fans as Vettel crashes out of his home race in Germany.

Comiserations for Ferrari fans as Vettel crashes out of his home race in Germany.

2018 leaves us with many questions that will remain unanswered such as why did Vettel not have the correct strategy for most races which he could have won? So who's to blame for Vettel's disintegrating championship hopes? Is it the strategists at Ferrari or is it just simply Vettel's fault? Admittedly, the strategy has seen many races ruined for the German but many races like Suzuka, Sochi, Germany and Italy could arguably have been ruined by mistakes made by Vettel. Despite these setbacks, the Ferrari driver is still determined to bring a championship back to Maranello, emulating his childhood hero, Micheal Schumacher, who also had mistakes and off seasons where he was bested by the likes of Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villenueve. The 7 time world champion is a prime example of never giving up until when you physically cant give anymore.

What next for the 4 time world champion?

At the time of writing this, Austin is the next destination in the Formula One circus. A track which Hamilton is very successful at. He also won his 3rd championship there in 2015. Will Hamilton clinch the title in the USA? If Vettel doesn't finish 2nd if Hamilton wins, then Lewis Hamilton will win his 5th Championship, making him the 3rd person to accomplish 5 world championships. Vettel will try to win every single race but his championship hopes seem all but gone. Will Vettel ever be a 5 time F1 world Champion? As a Vettel fan myself, I personally hope so. Only time will tell.