Hamilton vs Vettel vs Verstappen: The Future of Formula 1
By Joseph, Sub-Editor
The Mexican Grand Prix that happened last Sunday confirmed that Lewis Hamilton won his fourth world championship and cemented him as one of the most talented drivers ever, along with Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel.
However, the race yesterday also gave us a look into the future of Formula 1. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that was excited at the sight of Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen being side by side going into Turn 1 on Sunday. For me, this showed how exciting the next few years of F1 will be. Hamilton and Vettel, the two four time world champions and legends of the sports, seeing out their final years in F1 fighting for a fifth world title, and the future of F1, Verstappen, jockeying with these two champions of the sport. Despite the huge gulf in class between the top three teams compared to the rest of the field, the competition between these three will be gripping and intense.
Hamilton and Vettel are both undoubtedly great champions and both are great racers as well as being able to complete some astonishing overtakes. Despite critics arguing that both won their titles with dominant cars, they have shown that they can win in less competitive cars, (Vettel with F
errari and Hamilton with McLaren), displaying their grit, determination and skill in the process, proving that they are both undoubtedly great champions.
However, the young hot shot Max Verstappen is in a Red Bull that has been the third best car for the vast majority of this season, and has only started improving and showing potential for 2018 in the last few races, and in these last few races, (since the Malaysian GP) Verstappen (80) has scored more points than Hamilton has (70).
This improvement in the Ferrari (and especially the Red Bull) package has given us encouragement that the 2018 season will be one of the most exciting in recent years. As well as this, the improvement of the Renault and Force India teams, and the expected improvement of the Renault power train in the McLaren means that next year could be even more entertaining with smaller gaps across the field.