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The F1 2018 season is super underrated
2018 is a year that I often see lumped in with the rest of the Mercedes era, as if it was just another year of Hamilton dominance. To some people, there is no difference between 2014 and 2018, something I fundamentally disagree with. After 2012 and 2021, this is my third favourite season of F1. There is so many things to like about it.
**Most of the races were good:** The only races I would describe as not good were Spain, Monaco, Canada and Abu Dhabi. Every other race was at least decent. Granted Canada 2018 was one of the worst races of all time, but every season is going to have a few stinkers. Even 2021 gave us Belgium.
**Kimi Raikkonen's final grasp of glory:** Raikkonen was never the same driver he was ever since the hybrid era started, and had been dominated by Alonso and Vettel in years past. 2018 however saw flashes of Raikkonen's former self, with him outscoring Vettel during the second half of the season, and was even able to win a race in the United States Grand Prix.
**The emergence of Max Verstappen:** Max Verstappen was always an incredibly quick driver, but his previous seasons were always mired with incidents and shenanigans, even more so than in 2024 where he would take creative liberties as to where the racing line was. 2018 on the other hand was when you could see him grow as a driver. By the end of the season, he was comfortably the better Red Bull driver. Yes, I know Ricciardo had all the reliability of a launch day Xbox 360 that year, but most of those breakdowns were in races where Verstappen was already ahead of him anyway.
**A rookie campaign for the ages:** As somebody who's been watching F1 since 2012, I maintain that I've yet to see a rookie campaign as good as Leclerc's. Verstappen's comes close, but Leclerc just takes it for me. The big thing for me was the car Lecrlec was driving. On average, the Sauber was probably the second worse car on the grid. Much better than the Williams, about even with Toro Rosso (arguably being slightly worse) and way behind all the other teams.
Sauber should not have been in a position to score many points. Indeed across 2016 and 2017, the team only scored three points finishes in total. Leclerc socred a total of 39 points. Not only did he outscore the Toro Rossos, but also Stoffel Vandoorne and Romain Grosjean; drivers who were in FAR suprerior machinery.
This was also where we got to see Leclerc's supreme qualifying pace. That Sauber should not have made it out of Q1 for the vast majority of the season. Leclerc only ever got eliminated in Q1 five times, three of those being the first three races of the season when he was still warming up to F1. He reached Q3 eight times, in a car that did not have any right being there.
**A drive worthy of a champion:** A lot of people who never watched the 2018 season will look at the final result table and simply dismiss Hamilton's championship as yet another sign of Mercedes dominance. In reality, the Mercedes was not the dominant car of the year. It was the best car in some of the races, but it certainly wasn't the beast that it was in 14-16. Indeed many pundits and experts have argued that on average, Ferrari had the best car over the course of 2018.
But Hamilton not only won, he won with two races remaining. And a lot of that is due to the fact that Hamilton that year won races where he shouldn't have won, and where Mercedes wasn't the best team:
* Ferrari were stronger in Baku, but Raikkonen crashed out, and Vettel botched the safety car restart.
* Hamilton started Germany in P14, but fought his way to the front and eventually won in an incredible race. Remember that the 2018 Mercedes wasn't as dominant as the 2022 Belgian Red Bull (though that was a great drive from Verstappen also).
* Hungary was a track which should've suited Ferrari, but rain in Q3 gave Hamilton the edge he needed to claim pole position.
* Monza should've been a Ferrari 1-2, but a mega start from Hamilton saw him pressuring Vettel to spin off. Mercedes then played the team game in order to degrade Raikkonen's tyers in order for Hamilton to eventually overtake him.
* Singapore saw Hamilton deliver one of F1's all time greatest pole position laps, delivering a time that Mercedes' own simulations believed to be impossible. For reference, Mercedes was so poor in Singapore, it would've been an achievement to reach the second row of the grid, let alone pole position.
2018 was a year where the driver made the difference. If Hamilton was driving for Ferrari this year, he would've won the championship still. He was the best driver that year.
**I understand why others wouldn't like 2018 though:** Let's be honest, a lot of our favourite seasons are based on which are the ones our favourite drivers do well in. If you're a Vettel and Ricciardo fan, I understand if you'd rather leave 2018 behind.
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2018 is a year that I often see lumped in with the rest of the Mercedes era, as if it was just another year of Hamilton dominance. To some people, there is no difference between 2014 and 2018, something I fundamentally disagree with. After 2012 and 2021, this is my third favourite season of F1. There is so many things to like about it.
**Most of the races were good:** The only races I would describe as not good were Spain, Monaco, Canada and Abu Dhabi. Every other race was at least decent. Granted Canada 2018 was one of the worst races of all time, but every season is going to have a few stinkers. Even 2021 gave us Belgium.
**Kimi Raikkonen's final grasp of glory:** Raikkonen was never the same driver he was ever since the hybrid era started, and had been dominated by Alonso and Vettel in years past. 2018 however saw flashes of Raikkonen's former self, with him outscoring Vettel during the second half of the season, and was even able to win a race in the United States Grand Prix.
**The emergence of Max Verstappen:** Max Verstappen was always an incredibly quick driver, but his previous seasons were always mired with incidents and shenanigans, even more so than in 2024 where he would take creative liberties as to where the racing line was. 2018 on the other hand was when you could see him grow as a driver. By the end of the season, he was comfortably the better Red Bull driver. Yes, I know Ricciardo had all the reliability of a launch day Xbox 360 that year, but most of those breakdowns were in races where Verstappen was already ahead of him anyway.
**A rookie campaign for the ages:** As somebody who's been watching F1 since 2012, I maintain that I've yet to see a rookie campaign as good as Leclerc's. Verstappen's comes close, but Leclerc just takes it for me. The big thing for me was the car Lecrlec was driving. On average, the Sauber was probably the second worse car on the grid. Much better than the Williams, about even with Toro Rosso (arguably being slightly worse) and way behind all the other teams.
Sauber should not have been in a position to score many points. Indeed across 2016 and 2017, the team only scored three points finishes in total. Leclerc socred a total of 39 points. Not only did he outscore the Toro Rossos, but also Stoffel Vandoorne and Romain Grosjean; drivers who were in FAR suprerior machinery.
This was also where we got to see Leclerc's supreme qualifying pace. That Sauber should not have made it out of Q1 for the vast majority of the season. Leclerc only ever got eliminated in Q1 five times, three of those being the first three races of the season when he was still warming up to F1. He reached Q3 eight times, in a car that did not have any right being there.
**A drive worthy of a champion:** A lot of people who never watched the 2018 season will look at the final result table and simply dismiss Hamilton's championship as yet another sign of Mercedes dominance. In reality, the Mercedes was not the dominant car of the year. It was the best car in some of the races, but it certainly wasn't the beast that it was in 14-16. Indeed many pundits and experts have argued that on average, Ferrari had the best car over the course of 2018.
But Hamilton not only won, he won with two races remaining. And a lot of that is due to the fact that Hamilton that year won races where he shouldn't have won, and where Mercedes wasn't the best team:
* Ferrari were stronger in Baku, but Raikkonen crashed out, and Vettel botched the safety car restart.
* Hamilton started Germany in P14, but fought his way to the front and eventually won in an incredible race. Remember that the 2018 Mercedes wasn't as dominant as the 2022 Belgian Red Bull (though that was a great drive from Verstappen also).
* Hungary was a track which should've suited Ferrari, but rain in Q3 gave Hamilton the edge he needed to claim pole position.
* Monza should've been a Ferrari 1-2, but a mega start from Hamilton saw him pressuring Vettel to spin off. Mercedes then played the team game in order to degrade Raikkonen's tyers in order for Hamilton to eventually overtake him.
* Singapore saw Hamilton deliver one of F1's all time greatest pole position laps, delivering a time that Mercedes' own simulations believed to be impossible. For reference, Mercedes was so poor in Singapore, it would've been an achievement to reach the second row of the grid, let alone pole position.
2018 was a year where the driver made the difference. If Hamilton was driving for Ferrari this year, he would've won the championship still. He was the best driver that year.
**I understand why others wouldn't like 2018 though:** Let's be honest, a lot of our favourite seasons are based on which are the ones our favourite drivers do well in. If you're a Vettel and Ricciardo fan, I understand if you'd rather leave 2018 behind.
#cars
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