Lewis Hamilton had the perfect weekend in Japan, winning the grand prix at Suzuka and extending his lead at the top of the driver’s standings to 67 points.
It was a weekend where everything went wrong for Ferrari, right from qualifying to raceday, with Vettel having to settle for 6th place and Hamilton running away with the win.
Hamilton secured pole on Saturday and managed the race to perfection to win it with ease on Sunday, leaving Vettel and Ferrari frustrated as they had fallen short yet again.
However, Hamilton did have a dull moment during the Suzuka weekend, when he was overtaken by a Ferrari, whilst riding his oh so beloved scooter.
Check out the video:
Did you think @LewisHamilton led every lap on Sunday? Not quite… 😉 pic.twitter.com/nUnF10SrVQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2018
Mercedes would now be hoping to wrap the title up during the United States Grand Prix, so as to get a chance at redemption for the team orders that were imposed in Sochi.
The team orders(along with Verstappen’s drive) were the highlight of the Russian GP, as Mercedes took the difficult decision of asking Bottas to let Hamilton through in order for him to get a 50 point advantage over his nearest rival.
Now, with that advantage swelling up to 67 points, we could see Hamilton become world champion in the United States as he needs another 8 points to win it.
For Vettel, the impossible could come true only if Hamilton and Mercedes are plagued with reliability issues in the remaining 4 races.
Could it happen? Could Ferrari and Vettel somehow claw their way back? Highly improbable, but never say never in sport.
