Last weekend, Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from Lewis Hamilton. However, Hamilton managed to snatch the fastest lap of the race. Under different circumstances, this would not have made any difference. However, setting the fastest lap awards one point, otherwise, Hamilton and Verstappen would be tied.
As a result, Sebastian Vettel is the only non-Mercedes driver to lead the championship in the last 7 years. Other than that, the likes of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have always led the championship. At some point, Valtteri Bottas would have also lead the driver’s championship during his F1 tenure.
With Lewis Hamilton Taking A Point For Fastest Lap At Imola, Sebastian Vettel Remains The Only Non Mercedes Driver To Lead The Formula 1 World Drivers Championship Since 2014 from formula1
Needless to say, that honor has not gone to any other driver. This includes, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon. Admittedly, Max Verstappen has a chance to break that Mercedes stranglehold in the next couple of races.
Can anyone wrest the lead free from Lewis Hamilton?
This year, Max Verstappen has emerged as a major contender for the championship. He could have won the season-opener at Bahrain, but he squandered it with an illegal pass. Owing to that, he had to give the place back, and that was enough of a wake-up call for Hamilton.
However, when the Imola race rolled by, Verstappen decided to redeem himself. On a damp track, he and teammate Sergio Perez got good starts and were able to swarm Hamilton. While the Briton was able to dispatch Perez, Verstappen was running away from the Mercedes.
Then, disaster struck Lewis Hamilton when he slithered off the track and almost into a wall. Fortunately, he was able to extricate himself, unlike poor old Sebastian Vettel in 2018 at Hockenheim. Sadly for the 7-time world champion, he lost a chunk of time, and dropped down the order.
However, Hamilton was able to recollect himself and begin his recovery drive after the red flag. From there, Hamilton clawed his way back up the order and engaged in a titanic battle with the Ferraris and Lando Norris. Sadly, it was too late to catch Verstappen, and Hamilton had to settle for second and a fastest lap.
READ MORE: ‘I Can Say What I Want’ – Sebastian Vettel Reveals Ferrari Secret in Drive to Survive 3
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