Scott Dixon’s championship to lose
Within the space of 24 hours last weekend, we have seen two championship defining moments.
Set to have the most impact was Scott Dixon’s escape from championship catastrophe at Portland International Raceway in the penultimate round of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series.
Dixon had a 26 point lead heading into the Grand Prix of Portland and qualified 11th while arch-rival Will Power was on pole. Starting down the order has its potential risks and this almost came home to roost on the opening lap.
Dixon was among those collected in a first-lap crash in Turn 3, but somehow avoided serious damage in the incident precipitated by the spin of James Hinchcliffe after contact with Zach Veach. Marco Andretti’s car flipped over the top of the cars of Hinchcliffe and Ed Jones with all emerging uninjured. Covered in dust like a barn-find, Dixon’s car emerged relatively unscathed. He was able to reverse out of the pile up and make his way back to the field.
Dixon was able to restart, and finished fifth (It wasn’t quite that straight forward but he did finish fifth!). To add icing to the cake, his two nearest rivals, Alezander Rossi and Will Power, finished behind him in eight and 21st.
Heading to the final round at Sonoma in Califormia next weekend, Dixon just has to finish ahead of Rossi. In reality Power and Joseph Newgarden, who are both tied for third have just a mathematical chance of winning. However, Dixon views it differently.
As Dixon recently told Forbes magazine ….”I think we have to treat each race as a normal race. You’ve got to go in there with the expectation of winning, not trying to finish second and so on. The worst thing you can do in this situation is points-race. Getting us to this point are things we’ve done naturally each race, so we have to continue with that strategy”
Vettel’s championship to gain
Over in Monza, the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix provided plenty of drama.
Heading into the Roggia chicane, Sebastian Vettel became ‘boxed in’ behind team mate and pole sitter Kimi Raikkonen. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton took the outside line, Vettel didn’t (wouldn’t) ease back and the pair clashed exiting the first part of the chicane.
The result was that Vettel spun leaving Hamilton free to attack Raikkonen and eventually win the race. Without the spin Vettel should have won the race but instead had to make his way back through the field finishing fourth. This ‘moment’ has allowed Hamilton an opportunity, that he took, and he is now 30 points ahead in the championship.
While there is still seven more rounds on the F1 calendar, Vettel has a habit of, well, not using his head.
Take for example last season’s Singapore Grand Prix. Heading into the round, Hamilton had a three-point lead over Vettel with Mercedes having a 62 point lead over Ferrari in the manufacturers title race.
Hamilton took the lead on the first lap following a significant collision between Vettel, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Ferrari team mate Kimi Räikkönen. Vettel effectively took out both Ferrari’s from gaining any manufacturer points and handed Hamilton another 25 easy points.
Let’s sit back and watch the entertainment. Hamilton is a smart competitor, while Vettel cannot afford to throw away points as his rival is always there to collect them.
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