1. Mercedes’ Spanish masterplan

After winning two of the first four Grands Prix of the season, Sebastian Vettel went into the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIER DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI with a 13-point lead over Lewis Hamilton. It looked like the Ferrari driver would extend this gap, when he charged past his title rival at the first corner, but some fantastic Mercedes tactics saw the Brit pass the German and claim a breathless –and much-needed – 3.5 second win.

2. The Baku argy-bargy

For the first third of the season, it looked like Vettel was cool, calm and collected and Hamilton was a man on the edge. This completely changed on a wild afternoon in Azerbaijan. The race featured no fewer than three safety cars, and during the second of these Vettel lost the plot and rammed in to the back of Hamilton’s Mercedes. He recovered his composure to finish one place ahead of Hamilton in fourth, but the damage was done. Hamilton was in Vettel’s head and he knew it.

3. Rule Britannia

Hamilton’s victory in the 2017 FORMULA 1 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX was especially sweet for three reasons. First, he achieved the clean sweep of pole position, fastest lap and race victory. Second, it was the fifth time he’d won his home Grand Prix, which equalled the record set by Jim Clark and Alain Prost. Third, it cut Sebastian Vettel’s lead at the top of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship to just one point.

4. The Italian job

Talk about bursting the Ferrari fans’ bubble. Instead of cheering their favourite car to victory, Italy’s F1 addicts were forced to watch Lewis Hamilton power to a dominant victory. It was Hamilton’s third win in four races and it saw him take the lead in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship for the first time in 2017.

5. The Singapore swing

Hamilton’s championship lead looked to be in danger when he could only qualify in fifth, as Vettel claimed pole position in Singapore. Unfortunately for the German, he was involved in a first lap crash with Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen and had to retire. This left Hamilton with an open track and the Briton took advantage to top the podium and open up a 28-point title lead.

6. Sayonara Sebastian

The most exciting title race in years was all but over when Vettel retired after four laps of the 2017 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX. With the German in the pits, Hamilton made hay. Claiming his eighth win of the season to move 59 points ahead of his rival with just four races remaining. From there, the Brit kept things nice and steady to clinch the title in Mexico.