MOTORSPORT: Hamilton, Ogier reign – and Blue Oval too

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Ogier are world champions again. Yet again.

So too is Ford, in rallying – after a decade-long drought. But the real work with its Fiestas was done by British privateer operation M-Sport, which still doesn’t know whether it will have the funding to take on – let alone topple – rival manufacturers Hyundai, Toyota and Citroen again next year.

The winner of the latest round of the World Rally Championship was Elfyn Evans, a 28-year-old Welshman triumphant for the first time, and on his home soil. In the F1 World Championship, Max Verstappen won in Mexico, his second victory in the past four grands prix and the third time in his career…he’s just turned 20.

Aussie Daniel Ricciardo’s Mexican GP was shorter than his American race a week earlier. But again the carsales.com.au global ambassador was spectacular – coming from 16th on the grid, after an engine penalty, to seventh place before retiring with a turbocharger problem on just the fifth lap.

Conversely, fellow Australian Matt Campbell had a great weekend in Mexico City, winning the last two races of the Porsche Supercup only a week after a Supercar podium with Shane Van Gisbergen at the Gold Coast 600. In his first season on the international stage, Campbell won four of the 11 races in the Porsche Supercup and finished third in the prestigious series.

Hamilton’s horror day ends in triumph
The Mexican GP was a cruise for Verstappen after he made a brilliant start and got clear of the contact which forced F1 title rivals Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG) and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) into the pits, dropping them to the back of the field. Vettel, who needed a new front wing after puncturing Hamilton’s right rear tyre, recovered to finish fourth, but that wasn’t enough to stop the ‘Benz driver from winning the title and thus equalling Vettel’s championship tally of four.

Hamilton’s eventual ninth-place was his worst finish of the year, but he now has an unassailable 56-point championship lead, with a maximum 50 to be scored in the two remaining GPs in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. “It was a horrible way to do it (clinch the championship), but what could I do?” Hamilton said. “That’s not the kind of race that you want, but I never gave up.”

Championship number four means Hamilton is now indisputably the most successful British F1 driver. Only Michael Schumacher and Juan-Manuel Fangio have won more world titles - , seven and five respectively - while Alain Prost, like Hamilton and Vettel, has four.
Still only 32, with 62 wins and 72 pole positions, Hamilton may well overhaul Schumacher’s record 91 wins. His 72 poles is already a record.

Verstappen was chasing a record himself on Saturday in Mexico as he went close to becoming the youngest GP driver secure pole position. However he was pipped by Vettel in shadow of the chequered flag during final qualifying.

At the race start, the Dutch youngster tucked his Red Bull-Renault in behind the German’s Ferrari on the long drag to the first corner, then easily nipped by.

Through the third corner Vettel ran wide, damaging the front of his car and inflicting the puncture on Hamilton. Time lost in the pits wrecked their chances of victory and allowed Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) to fill the other podium spots, both well behind Verstappen.

The Force India-Mercedes cars of French youngster Esteban Ocon and Mexican veteran Sergio Perez finished fifth and seventh, guaranteeing the team fourth place in the constructors’ championship, behind Mercedes (already assured of the title for the fourth straight year), Ferrari and Red Bull.

Canadian rookie Lance Stroll celebrated his 19th birthday with sixth place, a good result for the Williams team.

Although Verstappen won, worryingly all three of the Renault-powered teams had engine troubles. After Ricciardo retired, both factory Renaults – driven by German Nico Hulkenberg and Spaniard Carlos Sainz – dropped out, while New Zealander Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso blew its second powerplant for the weekend after a similar drama curtailed his qualifying.

Ricciardo had encouragingly been the early pacesetter in practice, but in qualifying couldn’t get his tyres to heat up quickly enough and was only seventh before taking the engine penalty which pushed him back to 16th on the starting grid.

Then, after early promise after the start, as the West Aussie poignantly put it, the race “turned to crap”. “It’s been pretty grim … a shame to be out early again,” he added. Ricciardo is still a comfortable fourth in the championship, 44 points ahead of teammate Verstappen, despite one less win for the season.

Reflecting on how he now seems to be enduring the sort of misfortune suffered by team-mate Verstappen earlier in the year, Ricciardo said plainly: “it’s not so fun”.

Formula 1 World Championship driver standings after 18 of 20 rounds – 1. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes) 333 points; 2. Sebastian Vettel (Germany, Ferrari) 277; 3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Mercedes) 262; 4. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Red Bull-Renault) 192; 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Ferrari) 178; 6. Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull-Renault) 148; 7. Sergio Perez (Mexico, Force India-Mercedes) 92; 8. Esteban Ocon (France, Force India-Mercedes) 83; 9. Carlos Sainz Junior (Spain, Toro Rosso and Renault) 54; 10. Lance Stroll (Canada, Williams-Mercedes) 40; 11. Felipe Massa (Brazil, Williams-Mercedes) 36; 12. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany, Renault) 34; 13. Romain Grosjean (France, Haas-Ferrari) 28; 14. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas-Ferrari) 19; 15. Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium, McLaren-Honda) 13; 16. Fernando Alonso (Spain, McLaren-Honda) 11.

F1 constructor standings – 1. Mercedes 595; 2. Ferrari 455; 3. Red Bull-Renault 340; 4. Force India-Mercedes 175; 5. Williams-Mercedes 76; 6. Toro Rosso-Renault 53; 7. Renault 48; 8. Haas-Ferrari 47; 9. McLaren-Honda 24; 10. Sauber-Ferrari 5.

Remaining events – Brazilian GP, Interlagos, Sao Paulo, November 10-12; Abu Dhabi GP, Yas Marina, November 24-26.

WRC’s seventh heaven, runner-up decider at Coffs Harbour
F1 has had five winners in 18 rounds this year while Elfyn Evans is the seventh victor in 12 rounds of a World Rally Championship which introduced more aggressive cars we’ll see for the first time locally at the season finale in Coffs Harbour on November 16-19.

Sebastien Ogier, who took a big gamble in joining M-Sport when Volkswagen withdrew at the end of last season, has won only twice so far this year in his Ford Fiesta, yet secured the drivers’ title again with one round to spare. At 33, his five WRC titles rank him behind only his countryman Sebastien Loeb, who won nine in a row with Citroen.

The French manufacturer is trying to woo Ogier for next year, as well as Loeb for occasional outings.

M-Sport chief Malcolm Wilson is unsure he can retain Ogier, especially without greater support from Ford.

“I made the decision to engage Sebastien this year, but unless something changes (financially) then I can’t risk another year for M-Sport on the same basis,” Wilson told veteran rally correspondent Martin Holmes. “I can’t continue to do it. Ford knows that.

“Compared with the other teams in the sport, we are in a different league altogether.”

Wilson said he was doing his utmost to keep Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia and, as things stand, the only way he can do it would be to use all of what he saves on losing Estonian Ott Tanak to Toyota just to pay Ogier.

Tanak has now slipped to third in the championship behind Hyundai’s Belgian Thierry Neuville, who grabbed second place in Rally Great Britain in Wales, nudging Ogier to the third podium position.

The battle for runner-up honours for the season will be fought out between Neuville and Tanak at Coffs Harbour.

Meanwhile, Evans – denied a maiden victory by Neuville in Argentina six months ago – dominated in the rain, fog and mud of Wales, setting the fastest time on nine of the 21 stages. Evans has now joined Tanak and Toyota’s Finnish youngster Esapekka Lappi as first-time winners in the most competitive WRC season in decades.

Only 12.0 seconds separated the cars from second to sixth position at the start of the final day. Norwegian Andreas Mikkelson (Hyundai), winner of last year’s Rally Australia for Volkswagen in its last event, finished fourth in Wales – 4.6sec behind Ogier - while Tanak wound up sixth, although 10.0sec behind fifth-placed Finn Jari-Matti Latvala’s Toyota Yaris.

New Zealander Hayden Paddon said he had been “in a bit of a no man’s land” in finishing eighth, but added his sights were set “much higher” for Rally Oz in his Hyundai i20. While there has been speculation about Paddon’s future after a difficult year, he claims to have “a pretty clear contract that we’re doing all the rallies in 2018”.

M-Sport’s Wilson admitted to “a few tears” during the last stage of Rally GB, realising that “we’ve been on the podium at every event [this year] and we’re the only team to have three drivers secure a win”.

“The Fiesta has proven itself to have the performance and the strength, and that is down to the tireless hours that every single member of the team has put into this incredible achievement.

“We have got a tremendous skill base and when Sebastien and Julien joined the team it really was the lift that everyone needed.”

Ogier admitted he had “big emotions” at clinching another title, especially with M-Sport.
“This was the strongest feeling of emotion I have ever experienced in my professional life,” he said.

“Twelve months ago we decided to take what could have been considered a risk.

“We decided to team up with Malcolm and set ourselves a challenge.

“We have succeeded in that challenge and know that we made the right choice.”

World Rally Championship driver standings after 12 of 13 rounds – 1. Sebastien Ogier (France, M-Sport, Ford Fiesta) 215 points; 2. Thierry Neuville (Belgium, Hyundai i20) 183; 3. Ott Tanak (Estonia, M-Sport Ford) 169; 4. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland, Toyota Yaris) 136; 5. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain, M-Sport Ford) 118; 6. Daniel Sordo (Spain, Hyundai) 95; 7. Juho Haenninen (Finland, Toyota Yaris) 71; 8. Kris Meeke (GB, Citroen C3) 70; 9. Craig Breen (Ireland, Citroen) 64; 10. Hayden Paddon (New Zealand, Hyundai) 59; 11. Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway, Skoda, Citroen and Hyundai) 52; 12. Esapekka Lappi (Finland, Toyota) 51.

WRC manufacturer standings – 1. M-Sport Ford 398 points; 2. Hyundai 305; 3. Toyota 241; 4. Citroen 210.

Remaining event – Rally Australia, Coffs Harbour, November 16-19.