Where did it All Go Wrong for Ferrari?

The Mercedes team kicked off the 2018 season as the team to beat and Ferrari looked like they were rising to the challenge. Soon, it became a two-horse race between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. However, somewhere down the line, Ferrari faded away and put Mercedes firmly in the driver’s seat.

But where did the sudden decline start from? Vettel himself isn’t entirely blameless either. Things likely started going downhill since the German GP. Vettel was leading the race comfortably when the heavens opened. That was when Murphy struck Ferrari and Vettel. The Ferrari driver slid off the circuit at the hairpin and it was race over.

Lewis Hamilton, who was running 2nd, needed no second invitation and gratefully snatched the lead and win. From then onwards, it was a downward spiral for the Maranello squad.

In Hungary, Vettel made up for it with 2nd place behind Hamilton. However, he did collide with Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the race. He followed it up with a win in Spa Francorchamps but then came Monza. Many expected Ferrari to win in their own backyard and Kimi Raikkonen delivered with pole and a front row lockout.

However, Vettel undid all his hard work when he traded paint with Hamilton and spun to the back of the pack. Although he recovered to finish 4th, Raikkonen was left vulnerable to an attack from Hamilton.

In Singapore, Vettel and Ferrari had no answer to Mercedes. As it turned out, the Ferrari team made a strategic blunder, owing to a misinterpretation of an intercepted Mercedes radio message.

In Sochi, Ferrari tried their level best to attack Hamilton, even culminating with Vettel nearly squeezing Hamilton to the wall. Admittedly, Mercedes and Hamilton were highly unamused at the move.

Finally, in Suzuka, Vettel proceeded to shoot himself in the foot yet again. This time, it was a do-or-die kamikaze move on Max Verstappen. If there is one thing that Verstappen is known for, it is for taking no prisoners and being a hard man to pass. Apparently, Vettel never got the memo and the end result was a rotating Ferrari at the Spoon Curve.

Now, Hamilton has one hand on the 2018 crown and a 67-point lead to boot. Meanwhile, Ferrari seem to have forgotten all about the constructor’s championship. This is because their questionable strategy calls have either impacted one or both drivers.