By this time last year in the world of F1, the battle for the drivers’ championship title was solely between two men: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Yeah, some other drivers were pretty close at the time but those two were the biggest names competing for the title at the time.
Fast-forward to a year after, Rosberg pipped Hamilton to the title and retired while Lewis Hamilton is now facing stiff competition from a certain German driver called Sebastian Vettel for a championship title he lost… to a German last year!
It’s been a long F1 season so far. Most likely drivers can’t wait for the Abu Dhabi race in November. Whichever driver that tops the drivers’ standings at the time will be crowned champion, thanks in part to how events turned out in the Singaporean Grand Prix.
When this season is over, every F1 will keep talking about that single Grand Prix and it seemed to be the one that turned the F1 season on its head. But, what exactly happened?
Long story short, with Lewis Hamilton starting the race well behind Sebastian Vettel and co., he still managed to win the race in Singapore and extend his lead on the drivers’ standings to 28 points. He benefited from the fact that Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen all crashed out of the race, in the first lap!
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It was what journalists are now calling a gift for Lewis Hamilton and obviously a season decider. Before the race, Lewis Hamilton was only a few points away from Vettel. With the drama in Singapore, the Englishman now has a huge 28 points lead over the German.
Yes, the Malaysian Grand Prix is an entirely different one as has been seen by the results coming in from the practice sessions. The weather has not exactly been friendly and it looks like we might have another drama there again on Sunday.
But the fact remains that the crash in Singapore would have significantly affected the “chasing pack” one way or the other. There’s just no hiding from it. There’s no hiding from the obvious that the victory he completed in Singapore extends his lead over Vettel from three points to 28.
There’s been a huge swing in his favor and an absolute body blow to the German and Ferrari, who were left to consider how a race that they were expecting to win could end so disastrously. Hamilton, who is a three-time world champion, is now squarely in the driving seat for the title. He has also acknowledged his good fortune. Asked if it (the crash) was an answer to a prayer, he said: “I think it definitely was.”
The next F1 race is set to take place in Malaysia on Sunday. With all that has happened, do you think that Lewis Hamilton is a favorite to win this one? Or will Vettel shake off the events of the last race and win the Malaysian race?
Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
Tags: F1, Formula 1
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