INTENSE
F
ormula 1 heads home after
four opening long-haul races
with the championship finely
balanced between champions
Mercedes and Ferrari and the
prospect of an intense battle
stretching out ahead.
With the European season
proper starting in Spain next
week, and teams promising
upgrades and a faster pace of
development, the two frontrunners
return to their factories with two
wins apiece.
Mercedes have a one
point lead in the constructors’
championship while Ferrari’s
Sebastian Vettel, with two wins
and two second places, is 13 clear
of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
“It’s going to be extremely
close,” said Mercedes team boss
Toto Wolff. “More than very. They
(Ferrari) came out of the winter
with a good car and it seems
to suit Sebastian a lot. And we
just need to stretch ourselves
to perform as good as we can,”
added the Austrian.
So far success has alternated
between the two teams, with
Vettel winning the opener in
Australia, Hamilton in China,
Vettel again in Bahrain and Valtteri
Bottas taking his career first
success in Russia for the team he
joined in January.