F1 digest: Sebastian Vettel is title favourite says Damon Hill

Damon Hill believes Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is favourite to win the 2018 Formula 1 title ahead of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton.

After four races this season Mercedes ace Hamilton currently leads the drivers’ standings after his victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 29 April. The reigning world champion is on 70 points - four clear of Vettel.

Ferrari’s German driver won the opening two races of the season - in Australia and Bahrain - while also securing eighth in China and fourth in Azerbaijan.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

British former F1 driver Hill, who won the title in 1996, says that Ferrari and Vettel are the ones to beat this season.

He told Sky Sports: “You look at where Lewis is, he’s winning the championship but he’s had a bit of good fortune whereas Sebastian has had a bit of bad luck. Sebastian and Ferrari are definitely floating to the top.”

Vettel will be hoping to overtake Hamilton in the title race as F1 returns this weekend when the Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Sirotkin penalty appeal rejected

Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin will start Sunday’s Spanish GP with a three-place grid penalty after the team failed to overturn the decision.

F1.com says that Williams had “asked for Sirotkin’s Spanish grid penalty to be reviewed in the context of other incidents from the Baku race”. However, the stewards unanimously decided that no reviews would take place on the basis that Williams “were unable to provide new significant and relevant evidence.”

On the Sirotkin/Perez incident, an F1 statement said: “This was a case where one car crashed into the rear of another, and was not similar to other first lap incidents where cars were side-by-side. The penalty was similar to other penalties for similar collisions and was consistent with the minimum grid penalties given previously.”