Dominated by Mercedes in the hybrid era, danger now lurks for Sebastian Vettel in his own Ferrari garage. Monaco hotshot Charles Leclerc joins the team, seeking to establish himself among the heavy hitters in F1.
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The 2019 season could prove pivotal for Sebastian Vettel. It's been five years since Vettel's fourth world championship, which he won in another F1 era and with a different team, before the series' switch to its modern hybrid power plants.
All-conquering Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton triumphed as a series of errors blighted Vettel's 2018 title challenge, particularly in the second half of the season, prompting personnel changes in the garage and the cockpit for the Scuderia ahead of the new season.
New kid on the block
Mattia Binotto has taken charge of the team, while 21-year-old Charles Leclerc replaces Kimi Raikkonen in the second scarlet car. The Monaco native, who caught the eye with a series of improbable performances for Sauber during his rookie campaign, could prove much more than a youthful rear gunner for Vettel.
"He's smart, he's quick," Binotto told Italian paper Corriere della Serra in the run-up to Sunday's opening race in Melbourne. "We will have a lot of joy with him."
Before a wheel's turned in anger, Binotto is already hedging his bets on the status of his two drivers within the team. Despite saying that the pair will be "free to fight" in the opening races of the season, he's also said that the initial focus will be on securing a title with Vettel at the fifth attempt.
How Sebastian Vettel handed Lewis Hamilton the title
Both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton began the year aiming for a fifth world Formula One title. By finishing fourth in Mexico, the Briton has won a fifth drivers' title. Vettel and Ferrari made too many mistakes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Ng Han Guan
Mirror, mirror, on the wall …
… who's the fastest of them all? The answer at the start of the season is easy: Sebastian Vettel. With victories in Melbourne and Bahrain, the Ferrari driver gets off to a perfect start. Hamilton only manages second and third-place finishes and can only look on as Vettel celebrates.
Image: Reuters/B. Malone
Spinning into no-man's land
Vettel's good run ends in Shanghai after he is attacked by Max Verstappen, the cars collide and spin off course as Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen overtake them. Nico Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso also move ahead of Vettel who finishes seventh, losing valuable points to Hamilton in second.
Image: picture-alliance/Imagechina/Z. Junxiang
Break!
That could have gone better. After the safety car's exit, Vettel attempts too much too soon on the narrow Baku track, trying to overtake Bottas. The German brakes too late and too hard causing a tire imbalance and costing him places. Hamilton, Räikkönen and Sergio Perez overtake and, with Valteri Bottas suffering a flat tire towards the end, it's the Briton who celebrates his first win of 2018.
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Pit-stop panic
In Barcelona, Vettel can't compete with the speed of Hamilton's Mercedes. In desperation, Ferrari opts for a new strategy and gives Vettel fresh tires during a virtual safety car phase. But the extra pit stop ends up costing the German a podium place as he finishes fourth behind Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen.
Image: picture-alliance/DPPI Media/F. Gooden
Back on top
After finishing second ahead of Hamilton in Monte Carlo, everything clicks into place for Vettel at the sixth GP of the season in Montreal. Pole position, a 50th Grand-Prix career win and top spot in the drivers' championship – a perfect weekend for the German! Hamilton finishes the race a frustrating fifth.
Image: Reuters/C. Allegri
But not for long
But the joy in the Ferrari camp doesn't last. At the next GP in Le Castellet, Vettel collides with Bottas and immediately falls behind – not helped by a subsequent time penalty. The German manages to fight his way back to fifth but Hamilton wins the day – and also retakes first place in the championship.
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Away days!
Summer belongs to Ferrari. In Austria, Vettel takes advantage of Hamilton's absence to come third before taking the crown on "enemy territory" at Silverstone. The German overtakes Hamilton – in pole – right from the start before the Briton falls even further back following a collision with Räikkönen. Hamilton produces an impressive comeback but it's only enough for second behind Vettel.
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Blackout at home
The Ferrari is the superior car at this point and Vettel looks like a sure bet in Hockenheim – but the race leader loses control on the rain-soaked track 15 laps before the finish. The German bangs angrily on his steering wheel and can only look on as Hamilton, who started from 14th in the grid, lifts the trophy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Food for thought
In Budapest, Vettel is once again left wondering how it is that, despite having the better car, it's his opponent Hamilton who is stood highest on the podium. The answers: weak qualifying, poor pit stops, and the wrong tires. The German manages to sneak past Bottas into second towards the end but Hamilton now has a 24-point lead in the drivers' standings.
Image: Reuters/B. Szabo
Victory in Belgium
Finally! A mistake-free race from Ferrari! Vettel cruises around the hilly circuit in Spa to celebrate a victory that was never in doubt – that's what it's all about for an F1 driver. He overtakes Hamilton on the first lap and never looks back. The championship is wide open again.
Image: Getty Images/D. Mullan
Scuderia fatale
Disaster strikes again in Monza as Vettel, starting in second behind teammate Räikkönen, crashes into Hamilton from the start and immediately falls behind. Needlessly, since he would have overtaken the Briton eventually. But his impatience costs him and the chance is gone as Hamilton triumphs.
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Another mistake
Ferrari get their tire choices wrong again in Singapore. Vettel rides on ultrasofts as his opponents go for a harder variant. The result: Hamilton and Verstappen's tires last longer. And because the Briton and the Dutchman both leave the pits ahead of Vettel, the German is quickly left behind.
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Race orders and a slow Ferrari
The Ferrari is no longer the faster car! In Sochi, Hamilton shows just what his Mercedes is capable of and keeps Vettel at bay, the German only leading briefly before the Briton overtakes again. And when Mercedes order race leader Bottas to allows his teammate to go first, it's game over. Bottas holds off Vettel and Hamilton wins again.
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All over?
Another day, another fiasco for Vettel – this time in Japan. First, Ferrari make a mess of qualifying as Vettel starts in eighth. Then he crashes into Verstappen and falls even further back, eventually recovering to finish sixth. Hamilton wins and increases his lead to 67 points. Now on to Austin – match-point Hamilton.
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All in vain
Ironically, one of Vettel's best races of the season came too late to stop Hamilton. Vettel drove through a tricky race in Mexico to finish second, one spot short of the finish he needed to keep his title hopes alive. Hamilton finished in fourth to seal the title, but afterwards Vettel congratulated the Briton on a special achievement. Next season, the rivals will write their next chapter.
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"Sebastian has more experience, he's been with us for many years, he's won F1 championships," Binotto said. "So he's our champion."
With Michael Schumacher, fifth time was indeed a charm during his Ferrari tenure. Once the first title came, he went on to win five in a row.
Hamilton still the favorite?
Despite all the changes at Ferrari, and the Italian outfit's impressive showing in pre-season testing, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes still pose the primary threat. Mercedes have won every single drivers' and constructors' championship since the major rule changes of 2014.
Now 34, and champion in four of the past five seasons, Hamilton will be seeking a sixth drivers' title. Already assured of a mention among F1's very best, the Brit must surely have at least half an eye on the records of Michael Schumacher. He's 18 race wins and two championships shy of Schumacher's tally, and has already started more F1 races from pole than anybody in history.
Having sat back and concentrated on longer runs with heavy fuel loads for the vast majority of testing, leaving Ferrari to dominate the timesheets as the teams prepared in Spain, Hamilton turned the wick up on the last day of testing.
Instantly, he was able to put down a lap time just 0.003 seconds slower than Vettel's fastest of testing - demonstrating that even an improved Ferrari cannot expect to waltz off unchallenged in Australia.
"The regulations have changed quite substantially," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said at testing. "So we have to start from scratch, to prove ourselves again, against our own expectations and against our competitors. There's absolutely no feeling of entitlement to be at the front."
Clipped wings for improved racing?
Wolff even insinuated that major aerodynamic rule changes - focusing on cars' front and rear wings - might be a deliberate attempt to rein in Mercedes and force them to give up some of their advantage over the field.
Nominally though, the alterations are designed to promote closer, more exciting racing. The new car dimensions are supposed to reduce the performance disadvantage drivers encounter when following another car closely. In theory, if it's easier to follow and keep pace with a car, then it should be easier to overtake as well.
Veteran Sergio Perez at Racing Point F1 (formerly the Force India team) was cautiously optimistic about the changes after lapping behind a Mercedes in testing.
"I did a bit with [Valtteri] Bottas," Perez said. "Certainly I feel that you lose less downforce … We will see in Melbourne really, what it's like racing with other cars around you with similar pace and so on, but I really hope the show can be a lot better."
Red Bull — wild cards, or more?
Dutch charger Max Verstappen had few problems overtaking even under the old rules at several races. His Red Bull team, and talented new French teammate Pierre Gasly, will also hope to mix it at the very front during the course of the season. Staggeringly, the team's drivers have an average age of 22.
As in recent years, the early evidence points to a Red Bull that might not quite rival Ferrari or Mercedes in the round, but of a car that could excel at circuits playing to its strengths: cornering speed, maneuverability, traction and tire preservation.
Having switched from Renault to Honda power, Red Bull again appear to be the wild cards on the grid. The team's fastest times in testing at Barcelona were set on only the third-fastest tires available — meaning the Milton Keynes crew has done its best to keep its true potential for qualifying in Melbourne under wraps.
F1 2019 — the runners and riders
It's all change in the Formula 1 paddock ahead of the 2019 campaign. Three familiar teams are likely to fight it out at the front, but two of them have fresh faces behind the wheel.
Image: picture-alliance/AFP7/M. G. Aloma
Mercedes seeking sixth season in charge
Defending champions Mercedes are one of just two teams with an unchanged driver roster this season. Five-time champ Lewis Hamilton and his Finnish wingman Valtteri Bottas will try to maintain the team's perfect record in the turbo-hybrid engine era. Ever since the major engine overhaul of 2014, Mercedes have won everything in sight. Is it time for a change?
Image: picture-alliance/AFP7/M. G. Aloma
Ferrari's SF90 strong in testing
Ferrari's 2019 challenger has been reliable and consistently quick in preseason testing, prompting the inevitable headlines asking if this might be their year. But, if so, whose year? Team leader Sebastian Vettel will face a new challenge from within this season, the highly fancied 21-year-old Charles Leclerc from Monaco. Leclerc has moved up from Sauber, replacing Kimi Raikkonen.
Image: picture-alliance/DPPI Media/F. Le. Floc'h
Sign of things to come?
A Mercedes in hot pursuit of a Ferrari. Lap times in testing can be misleading, at best, but two weeks in Spain suggest this might be a common image in 2019. Being from Monaco, Charles Leclerc technically can't break an improbable French F1 drought. The last driver from the birthplace of motor sport to win an F1 race was Olivier Panis at Monaco in 1996, 17 months before Leclerc was born.
Image: picture-alliance/AFP7/F. Pidal
Honda joins Red Bull, Gasly joins Verstappen
But Leclerc isn't the sole Francophone hope of 2019. Red Bull have also promoted Pierre Gasly (r.) from Toro Rosso. Gasly, at 23, is older than his prodigious 21-year-old teammate Max Verstappen. Now powered by Honda engines, after burning every last bridge with Renault, Red Bull will be hoping for reliability and straight-line speed to match their nimble car's performance in the corners.
Image: picture-alliance/LAT Photographic
Albon in, Kvyat back at Toro Rosso
Red Bull's junior outlet has the same Honda engines but older drivers than its sister team this season. Thai driver Alexander Albon, 22, makes his F1 debut after finishing third in last year's F2 championship. He's racing with Daniil Kvyat, a Russian 24-year-old who drove for Toro Rosso and then Red Bull in the past, before being ousted to make space for Max Verstappen.
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Renault — the Hulk and the honey badger
Daniel Ricciardo surprised Red Bull last season when he announced he'd be leaving the team. That means some serious intra-team competition for German veteran Nico Hülkenberg. Hülkenberg's nickname of The Hulk requires little explanation, while Ricciardo likes to think of himself as the honey badger — one of nature's fiercest smaller mammals — so don't be surprised if sparks fly.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Gasperotti
Haas opt for stability
Like Mercedes, Haas F1 have opted to hold station in 2019. Their engine deal and technical partnership with Ferrari stands. And behind the wheel, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen (pictured) will team up again, seeking more midfield overachievement. The rest of the grid might not be so chuffed about this, considering the complaints about Magnussen's aggression in the past few seasons.
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Still a Sauber, now named Alfa Romeo
For the second time in the Swiss team's history, Sauber has given up its name to please its partners. In the past, it was BMW, but now the Alfa Romeo brand is returning to the F1 grid. Alfa, part of the Fiat family that includes Ferrari, is expanding on its 2018 sponsorship presence. Kimi Raikkonen returns to the team where his career began in 2001, driving with Italy's Antonio Giovanazzi.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. M. De La Puente
Racing Point F1 — out of the red, still in the pink
You may recognize this hot pink bodywork as the trademark of Force India in recent seasons. And you'd be right. But Force India needed a midseason rescue in 2018 as lawsuits and insolvency proceedings caught up with Indian businessman and politician Vijay Mallya. A Canadian consortium came to the rescue, and the team's been renamed Racing Point F1 for 2019.
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Lance Stroll, part of the rescue package
One change seemed inevitable at Racing Point once it emerged that Lance Stroll's father, Lawrence Stroll, was spearheading the takeover of the team. Stroll joins after some difficult seasons in the struggling Williams car. Judging by 2018's performance, he may have a much better car driving with Sergio Perez this season. Although losing 2018 prize money (due to the bankruptcy) may hurt the team.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/J. Valls
All change at McLaren Renault
McLaren have brought in Spaniard Carlos Sainz from their engine suppliers Renault to lead the team in 2019. Teenage British talent Lando Norris, runner-up in the F2 feeder series last season, will debut in the big leagues. The struggling giants will hope to move back towards the pointy end of the grid, territory the Woking team has never occupied since the 2014 changes to the engine regulations.
The grid's lacking a double champion in 2019. That said, Fernando Alonso (r.) couldn't keep away from testing in his native Spain. McLaren unveiled Alonso on week 2 as an ambassador to the team, saying he would test the MCL34 car later in 2019. Alonso will be at the Indy 500 and racing for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship this season, but maybe his days in F1 aren't yet numbered?
Image: picture-alliance/DPPI Media/F. Le. Floc'h
Welcome back, Robert!
One veteran departs, while another returns. Polish fan favorite Robert Kubica was seen as a serious rival to the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel in 2011 when a rally crash almost cost him his life and did cost him part of his right forearm. Without that crash, he would have been driving a Ferrari in 2012. Eight years on, he'll be rejoining the grid far nearer the back, at Williams.
Image: picture-alliance/DPPI Media/F. Le. Floc'h
Williams' work in progress
The bad news for Kubica, and British rookie George Russell, is that the team looked in dire straits in preseason. Drivers and mechanics twiddled their thumbs for most of the first week of testing, waiting for a working FW42 car to arrive in Spain. Using these scaffold-like "aero rakes" as late as the penultimate day of testing is a surefire sign they're struggling with aerodynamic performance.