After a bitter disappointment in qualifying, Verstappen had slept only three hours, and there was an aggressive Red Bull pilot on the second grid slot on Sunday. As the lights went off, Verstappen attacked with full throttle, taking the lead. Pole-setter Ricciardo, on the other hand, had a bad start, and lost a position to Hamilton as well. The Briton came close to challenge even Verstappen for the lead. Kimi, who had started from P6, was overtaken by Renault's Sainz, but Kimi snatched his 6th place back on the following lap. There was a close call on the opening lap, as Sebastian's front-right tyre touched Bottas' front wing. Luckily there were no consequences due to the contact!
It was very surprising to see, how huge an issue the tyre degradation turned out, especially for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton was in severe trouble with his out-worn ultra-softs already on lap 8. Kimi, too was struggling with his tyres. There was no way this was going to be a one-stop race! The Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Bottas both pitted on lap 12, for a fresh set of super-soft Pirellis. Red Bull's Ricciardo pitted on the sequential lap, also for the red-walled super-softs.
Race leader Verstappen pitted on lap 14, opting for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. The flying Dutchman re-joined the track in P3, right behind Kimi, who hadn't pitted yet. Ferrari's strategy seemed to be to keep Kimi on track, to slow down Verstappen. However, Max was absolutely flying on his fresh tyres, so Kimi was facing a mission impossible. The difference in the pace of these two was so significant, that Max could easily make it past the Iceman at the end of the main straight. Kimi's lap times at this point were four seconds slower than Verstappen's! This seemed as a very poor strategic call from Ferrari at this point... On lap 17 both Hamilton and Ricciardo passed Kimi, who had no chance to defend his position on his dying tyres.
Both red-suited drivers pitted on lap 18, opting for the hardest compound as well. Sebastian re-joined the track in P4 and Kimi in P6. Verstappen in the lead was in a class of his own, as the gap to Hamilton was already nine seconds. Kimi's pace on the second stint was extremely promising, and he was clearly faster than his fellow countryman Bottas. Hamilton, on the other hand, was once again in trouble with the tyres! Mercedes seemed to be harder on the tyres than Red Bull and Mercedes. It was kind of weird to see Mercedes struggling so much with their pace, as they have been so competitive all season so far.
On lap 29 Sebastian was right at Ricciardo's tail. The German was allowed to use DRS, and this time he was patiently waiting for his chance to make a move. Meanwhile Sainz's Renault was hit with a power unit failure, which deployed the virtual safety car. On lap 34 Sebastian made a successful overtaking move on his ex-teammate in Turn 2. I was so happy for Sebastian, who made the move perfectly and snatched the third place from Ricciardo. After overtaking the Australian, Sebastian rapidly closed the gap to Hamilton, who was struggling desperately with his tyres and missing pace. And Sebastian attacked again on lap 39! The hungry German passed his title rival at the end of the main straight, moving second already. Sebastian started banging fastest lap times, and the storming Ferrari ace was half-a-second per lap quicker than Verstappen in the lead.
The pit stop roulette started again on lap 47. Sebastian pitted for a fresh set of ultra-softs, whilst Hamilton had to opt for a used set of the middle compound. Meanwhile, there was an intense battle between the Finns. Kimi was right at Bottas' tail, putting pressure on his compatriot. Bottas locked up in Turn 1 and ended up going wide. Kimi thanked for the chance and passed Valtteri. Red Bull reacted right away and called Verstappen in. The Dutch Red Bull ace switched to another set of super-softs and re-joined the track in the lead. Teammate Ricciardo was second, four seconds behind Max. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth. Bottas pitted for a used set of ultra-softs, as there were no fresh sets left. It was a bit weird to see the Silver Arrows back in P5 and P6.
With 20 laps to go, Sebastian had hunted down Ricciardo. Although Sebastian managed to make it within DRS distance, he seemed to be stuck behind the Australian. Until something dramatic happened on lap 62. There was smoke coming from the rear of Ricciardo's RB14! Once again the Australian's Red Bull was hit with a technical failure, and this was already the 8th DNF for the unfortunate Honey Badger. Ricciardo has the very questionable honour of having more DNFs than any other driver this season. What a bitter and heart-rending disappointment for Ricciardo! Ricciardo's retirement brought out the virtual safety car. It was no wonder, that Max in the lead became very worried about the condition of his power unit.
On lap 67 Bottas pitted for the third time already. The Finn had to opt for the pink-walled hyper-softs, as there were no other compounds left. Meanwhile dominant race leader Verstappen lapped the Finn! Mercedes were definitely having a bad day in the office! Luckily that wasn't the case for the Red Team. Kimi had made excellent job with tyre management, and Kimi proved, that it was possible to make the one-stop strategy work. So what had first appeared to be a bad tactical call from Ferrari, proved a genius one at the end of the race, as Kimi had jumped third thanks to the one-stop strategy.
As a precaution Red Bull turned Verstappen's engine down at the end of the race. But there was nothing, that could threaten the flying Dutchman's victory! He crossed the finish line as the race winner for the second time this season. Sebastian finished the runner-up after a strong race, with teammate Kimi completing the podium. Hamilton finished the race in P4, which was high enough for the Briton to secure his fifth world championship. Teammate Bottas finished 5th, with Renault's Hulkenberg 6th, Sauber's Leclerc 7th, McLaren's Vandoorne 8th, Sauber's Ericsson 9th and Toro Rosso's Gasly 10th.
I have to admit, that Hamilton really deserves the fifth championship. He has had an impressive season with hardly any mistakes. Sebastian showed true sportmanship, as he went to congratulate his rival right after the race. Mercedes still haven't clinched the constructors' championship, but the Red Team is 55 points behind them already. There are two more rounds to go... Hopefully two more victories to take for the Red Team! Never give up! Forza Ferrari!
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