It has been another exciting year for Formula One as 2019 has seen the sport include an exciting championship, an under-performing big-hitter and history makers.
Those who looked to the online sportsbook to put their money behind their predicted Championship winner were not disappointed as it proved to be another successful year for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.
The Stevenage-born racer achieved his sixth Championship title while Mercedes’ dominance in the sport continued as they won their sixth consecutive Constructors Championship title.
Hamilton’s blistering start
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in his brand new Mercedes by being unchallenged in the opening set of races.
Mercedes enjoyed an excellent start to the season with five back-to-back 1-2 finishes as they barely put a foot wrong despite Ferrari’s best efforts.
With a car that proved to be bundles of pace ahead of Ferarri, Hamilton’s firepower set the tone with a comfortable lead at the top of the driver’s standings.
Things looked all rosy for Hamilton; however, a disastrous weekend in Germany, a difficult pill to swallow in Austria and Max Verstappen’s threat kept the 34-year-old on his toes.
Vettel and Ferrari struggle to match Hamilton’s pace
Ferrari’s downfall mostly came down to driving errors and unreliable equipment.
They were not awful, they were far from it, but Mercedes were just too dominant – their poor fortune was more commonly a result of mistakes
Their SF90 car has proved incapable of challenging to win at each track; however, when it has stood a chance of winning, simple errors from Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc as cost them.
This often came down to the fierce rivalry between Vettel and Leclerc. The duo could not be separated as they battled continuously throughout the year.
Leclerc, statistically, is the number one in the team with more wins, more pole positions, and more points – and victory on Ferrari’s home turf of Monza. Vettel, however, is paid £36million a year and is forcing his way.
Ferrari spent the entire first half of the season without a win; their fortunes improved as they picked up wins at Belgium, Italy and Singapore but it was not enough as the damage had already been done.
Consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships
On an individual driver’s basis, Hamilton won his sixth Formula One world championship; however, a driver’s success is based on how successful his team is.
This year, though, it has been a two-way partnership with Hamilton’s excellent driving paying dividends to the superb technical support of Mercedes.
Ferrari won six straight constructors’ championships between 1999 and 2004, but Michael Schumacher managed just five drivers’ titles during that period.
Now, however, the success of Hamilton in recent years has allowed Mercedes to win the drivers’ and constructors’ championships for the sixth consecutive time – becoming the only team to have done so.
It was hardly a late title-winning outcome that determined the victors; the constructors’ championship was sealed in Japan with four races to go while Hamilton secured his title with two tracks still to visit.
Mercedes and Hamilton have dominated Formula One in 2019. We do not know how 2020 will pan out but there is plenty to be done to deny Mercedes from being successful for a seventh consecutive year.
Formula One 2019 Main image credit:
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