Formula 1

About the season

The halo cockpit protection device became mandatory on every car, after earlier criticism from several drivers, including Vettel, over its looks and visibility, before safety arguments won out. At his home German Grand Prix, race leader Vettel slid off in wet conditions and crashed into the wall, while Hamilton fought back from 14th on the grid to win - a swing many consider decisive for the season. Hamilton secured his fifth world championship, moving second only to Michael Schumacher on the all-time list of title winners. The halo's introduction ended a long debate: the FIA had also tested a transparent "shield" windscreen, but Vettel reported that it distorted his vision and made him dizzy, leading the sport to settle on the open-framed halo instead. Lewis Hamilton won the 2018 Drivers' Championship with 408 points (Mercedes), 88 points ahead of the runner-up. Mercedes won the Constructors' Championship with 655 points, 84 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 21 completed races this season, there were 85 retirements. 5 different drivers won a race this season. Lewis Hamilton took the most race wins, 11 in total. Vettel won the season-opening race, the Australian Grand Prix. The closest finish of the season came at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with a gap of just 0.699 seconds. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 7 drivers failing to finish. The most dominant win of the season came at the Spanish Grand Prix, with a margin of 20.6 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from Hamilton at the German Grand Prix, starting from grid position 14. Verstappen made the biggest gain of the season at the United States Grand Prix, from grid position 18 to finishing 2 (up 16 places). Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the season.