Valtteri Bottas under pressure to show he can beat Lewis Hamilton again
Formula 1 | March 29, 2019 13:06 ISTMercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had vowed to come back stronger this year after flopping for much of 2018.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had vowed to come back stronger this year after flopping for much of 2018.
Mercedes was a hot favourite to win in Melbourne after dominating every practice session but surprisingly, it was Bottas who finished with a gap of 20 seconds.
The five-time world champion edged Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas' leading time with seconds remaining to top qualifying Saturday in 1 minute, 20.486 seconds.
The five-time Formula One world champion topped the time sheets in both practice sessions Friday and followed up by recording the quickest lap time of 1 minute, 22.292 seconds.
Ferrari can start the Formula One season with the belief it has a car fast enough to give Mercedes a title challenge. Sebastian Vettel concluded the F1 preseason with the fastest time through the eight days of testing.
Novak Djokovic completed a sensational turn around and became the world No.1 men's tennis player after a gap of two years.
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen talked about babies, practice and lots more.
Sebastian Vettel led Hamilton by eight points after 10 of 21 races and 4-3 in wins, only to lose by 88 points overall and 11-5 in races won.
Lewis Hamilton said that he loves India and the culture of the country and whatever he had said earlier was not to demean the country.
It was a symbolic finish to a season where, again, Hamilton showed his superiority under pressure to beat Vettel into second place overall for the second straight year.
Robert Kubica said he will be racing for the Williams team next year, a remarkable comeback considering he almost lost his right hand in a rally accident in 2011.
Five-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton had earlier said that he felt conflicted while racing in India.
Hamilton's comments came in the wake of Formula One's decision to hold its first ever Grand Prix in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on a street circuit in 2020.
Hamilton's second win in Sao Paulo was only possible after Force India's backmarker Esteban Ocon clashed with race leader Verstappen on lap 44, causing both cars to spin.
At age 33, Hamilton can now make a run at something once previously unthinkable: The seven titles won by Germany's Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton will start third, knowing he can let the Red Bull cars go off and running while he coasts his Mercedes to the finish line.
Hamilton leads Vettel by 67 points and any result Sunday that puts him eight or more points ahead of Vettel clinches the title.
If Hamilton wins Sunday, Vettel must finish second to push the championship another week to Mexico City.
Mick Schumacher won eight of the last 15 races in F3 this season and said this week he will announce his future race plans soon.
Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver was never seriously challenged and crossed the finish line 12.919 seconds ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas.
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