Nine podium finishes are more than might have been expected from the Red Bull. Defended skilfully too, holding off Hamilton in Austria. The win at Baku came after dropping to 17th followingan unscheduled pit stop and he was similarly impressive to take sixth from the back in Brazil and fourth from 16th at Monza, where his dive up the inside of Kimi Raikkonen at the first chicane exemplified his fighting spirit. 4) Daniel Ricciardo, Red BullĮnjoyed more reliability than his team-mate and in a car that was off the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari still turned in a very strong season, including some aggressive but controlled overtaking. There were errors that cost him – notably hitting Ricciardo in Hungary – but superb races in Malaysia, Mexico, Japan and the US, some electrifying starts and fearlessness in taking on Vettel and Hamilton belies his sixth place. Verstappen out-qualified Ricciardo 13-7, including a fantastic second in the wet at Monza. Was out-scored by his team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, but when the car was working he out-performed the Australian. Verstappen finished very strongly with two wins and signed a new contract with Red Bull. 3) Max Verstappen, Red BullĪ torrid opening to the season that included five DNFs had the 20-year-old openly frustrated with his team but by the close both sides were more content. Then Ferrari, who had started so strongly, proved fallible and mechanical problems in Malaysia and Japan all but ended the charge. The swipe at Hamilton in Baku was evidence he was feeling the pressure and crashing out after aggressively defending off the grid in Singapore cost him a likely win. There was fortitude, as seen in his recovery to finish fourth in Canada after losing his front wing but the four-time world champion was stymied by errors. Vettel turned in some superb performances, as did his team, aggressive and clever strategies in Australia and Bahrain both returning wins. Mounted a grand assault on the title, enjoying a car that was often quicker than the Mercedes.
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