@motorsport PRESENTER: 
@darnscotty
Hello and welcome to the 2018 season of Formula.
The teams have been working around the clock to prep for the new season. Lewis Hamilton will be looking to defend his World Championship title after winning his fourth one last year.
However, there are a lot of questions that needs to be answered. Who can topple Mercedes? Will it be Ferrari or Red Bull Racing? McLaren, Torro Rosso – Honda or Renault engines? What will the impact of the new rules be and many more…
Hamilton was nominated for the World Sportsman of the Year category, going up against the likes of two tennis legends, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The FIA F1 2017 season saw Vettle dominating at the beginning with Hamilton close by. Vettle remained in front on the Drivers Championship for the first 12 races.
On the thirteenth race at Ferrari’s home town, Hamilton won his second consecutive race. Vettle finished third and this was the first time Hamilton took the lead. Hamilton won the next race at Singapore after the two Ferrari’s collided with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, taking all three out of the race.
Kimi will have to perform this year, the new Sauber driver Charles Leclerc is eyeing his seat for 2019! Let’s hope this isn’t the case, we have grown fond of his sense of humor. But it’s not all doom and gloom for him, along with Hamilton, Raikkonen received a Laurens reward nomination. Kimi’s nomination was for Best Sporting Moment when he changed a young Ferrari fan Thomas’ tears into joy and big smiles. Winners announced on 27 Feb!
2017 ended with Hamilton on 363 points against Vettel’s 317. Hamilton’s team mate Bottas took third overall and ended with 305 points and in fourth was Kimi with 205 points. Daniel Ricciardo was very close in fifth with 200 points, in front of team mate Max Verstappen on 168.
Max Verstappen managed to win two races, Malasia and Mexico while Daniel Ricciardo took the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Three wins and third overall.
Big news is that Aston Martin signed up as the main title sponser and the team will be known as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Phew, a mouth full! Aston Martin’s CEO, Andy Palmer, noted that the prestigious car manufacturer is looking to join Formula 1 as an engine supplier.
This isn’t the first time the two companies have worked together. Recently they launched a $3 million hypercar, the AM-RB 001. When released later this year, it should be the fastest street legal car in the world.
| Team | 2017 Drivers | 2018 Drivers | Car Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
source |
Valterri Bottas |
Valterri Bottas |
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source |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Kimi Räikkönen |
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source |
Max Verstappen |
Max Verstappen |
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source |
Esteban Ocon |
Esteban Ocon |
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source |
Felipe Massa |
Sergey Sirotkin |
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source |
Jolyon Palmer |
Carlos Sainz Jr. |
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source |
Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Brendon Hartley |
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source |
Kevin Magnussen |
Kevin Magnussen |
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source |
Fernando Alonso |
Fernando Alonso |
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source |
Pascal Wehrlein |
Charles Leclerc |
