Ferrari

#Vettel's smile after hearing about the Mercedes issues in the Press Conference #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/TP6ES6ItC3

— Mattzel89 (@Mattzel89) September 6, 2015

Lewis Hamilton secured a convincing win at the Italian Grand Prix, before a stewards inquiry into the tyre pressure of both Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg's Mercedes cars put the race result in doubt.

And talking to the press at the end of the race, second-placed Sebastian Vettel couldn't help but laugh at news of an investigation that could hand him the race win.

However, the Ferrari driver leapt to Hamilton's defence when asked about the investigation. Vettel told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport):

Look, I think it's not fair that you hammer questions at the drivers because it's not directly our decision. This race happened, we've all been through the podium ceremony, which was fantastic. It's a bit of a shame that we've started to lose the focus of the result.

Vettel leapt to Hamilton's defence asking journos for "respect adn fairness, he did a good job" #pirelli #spa #shortmemory

— Byron Young (@byronf1) September 6, 2015

Sebastian Vettel asked how he would feel if he was handed victory. “I am second on podium that’s emotions I have now,” #f1

— Byron Young (@byronf1) September 6, 2015

Fair play, Seb.

[Twitter]

Even Il Grande John couldn't keep them quiet.

John Surtees waved both horizontally and vertically, spoke a few words of Italian and, after realising he was fighting a losing battle, kept a dignified silence, giving them all the time they needed to get the poison out of their collective system. 

But the good intentions of Formula One's perfect gentleman only served to worsen the situation.

Sebastian Vettel had just claimed his sixth victory of the 2013 season in the Italian Grand Prix, effectively placing one hand on his fourth consecutive title. 

As he stood on the podium at Monza, the scene of his very first F1 victory five years earlier, here was a chance for him to reflect on the peak of his career and how far he'd come since that soggy afternoon in September '08.

Yet the world champion, on a day of celebration, was reduced to a piece of meat dangling over the mouths of thousands of lions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtfS0WGOWbA

Vettel had grown accustomed to being booed throughout 2013, such was the general public's frustration with his relentless success with Red Bull Racing and their anger over his controversial pass on team-mate Mark Webber to win that year's Malaysian GP.

The reception he received at Monza, however—the only venue on the calendar where the podium hangs over the racetrack itself, leaving the drivers exposed to the spectators who gather below—was something different, far more intense and hostile than ever before.

It was the moment Vettel made the jump from being F1's latest pantomime villain to a genuine figure of hate as the Tifosi booed and jeered every word to escape his mouth, while singing that familiar refrain in praise of the man wearing red.

Vettel: The more booing the better.That's what happens if you win at Monza &aren't dressed in red! As they booed a lot we can be happy today

— Sebastian Vettel (@FansOfSebVettel) September 8, 2013

In the eyes of those waving Ferrari flags, Fernando Alonso was the real winner, the real champion, and Vettel was nothing more than an irritant, someone with a dreadful habit of getting in the way and preventing the right result.

The contrast between the hero and villain was made abundantly clear at the close of the podium ceremony, when Alonso—after Vettel had retreated to take cover within the sanctuary of the pit complex—remained on the balcony and took a series of photographs, capturing the essence, the beauty of what it means to be a Ferrari driver at Monza.

But it is only now, as Vettel prepares to compete in his first Italian Grand Prix in those scarlet-red overalls and Alonso braces himself for what will surely be the most painful race of McLaren-Honda's season, that the true meaning of Monza 2013 has become apparent.

The selfie Alonso took from the podium encapsulated his superficial nature and how he would only play the Prancing Horse's heartstrings whenever it suited him.

Jacques Villeneuve, a former team-mate of the Spaniard, told Sport Bild (h/t GrandPrix247) of Alonso's "God complex" and how the "love" shown to him by Ferrari was never truly reciprocated by someone who thinks "more about Twitter and being a politician than team spirit."

To Alonso, Ferrari was a tool in his armoury, an extension of his own excellence, an asset on the good days and an irrelevance on the occasions he wanted "someone else's car," as he memorably told BBC Sport's Andrew Benson after the 2013 Hungarian GP.

https://twitter.com/alo_oficial/status/376722727903977472

Alonso's manipulation of Ferrari meant despite a number of heroic performances of his five seasons with the Scuderia, he was never fit to spearhead the most sacred team in F1.

This weekend's race in Italy may only be Vettel's 12th race in Ferrari colours, but the German has already established himself as the best possible leader for the pit lane's damsel in distress.

Like the most triumphant drivers in Ferrari's history, Vettel has quickly recognised the importance of serving—rather than riding—the Prancing Horse and the value of emerging as the focal point of a collective environment.

That, to all intents and purposes, has been at the root of Ferrari's improvement from last season to this, which has seen the team claim two victories and six further podium finishes after their first winless campaign in over two decades in 2014.

On the evidence of August's Belgian GP, where Vettel could only manage ninth in a qualifying session dominated by Mercedes-powered cars, Monza's long straights should not play to the strengths of Ferrari's SF15-T car. 

Yet the magic tricks performed by Vettel's Ferrari throughout 2015—from conquering Mercedes in Malaysia and surging from the back of the grid in Canada to winning with ease in Hungary—means it would be dangerous to discount the Scuderia in their own backyard.

And even when those tricks don't quite come off—take, for example, his tyre failure on the penultimate lap at Spa-Francorchamps—the German maintains his loyalty, with his vehement defence of Ferrari's tyre strategy in Belgium, via a statement on his official website. It is akin to a football manager refusing to even consider that his own players may have been at fault for a defeat.

Having revealed on the eve of the season how he pestered the team over a move as long ago as 2008, per Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Autosport), Vettel has revelled in the opportunity of finally experiencing life inside Ferrari and the Italian GP, no matter how he performs, will revolve around him and him alone.

Sebastian Vettel: I’m also looking forward to meeting all our fans [at Monza]: I can’t wait.#F1 #Seb5

— #DankeSeb ♡ (@sebvettelnews) September 1, 2015

Whatever he previously thought he knew about Ferrari will be challenged in what is certain to be one of the most draining but satisfying weekends of his career, where the fickle temperament of sports fans will be there for all to see.

It's taken the Tifosi some time to realise it, but Vettel is the hero Ferrari always needed.

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Scuderia Ferrari announced on Wednesday that 2007 Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen has agreed to a new one-year contract that will keep the 35-year-old with the team throughout the 2016 season. Sky Sports were among the first to report the news.

As reported by Pitpass.com, the team released a short statement, saying: “Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The driver lineup next season will still consist of the Finnish driver and Sebastian Vettel.”

Via by Ian Parkes of Autosport, Raikkonen expressed his delight at signing the new deal and expressed his desire to end his career with Ferrari:

Kimi Raikkonen "For me, to be able to stay another year at Ferrari means the dream goes on. The Scuderia is my family…” more

— Ian Parkes (@ianparkesf1) August 19, 2015

Kimi Raikkonen “It’s here I want to end my career. I am more committed than ever."

— Ian Parkes (@ianparkesf1) August 19, 2015

Raikkonen joined Ferrari from Team Lotus in 2014, where he was paired with Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was replaced with Sebastian Vettel for the 2015 campaign. The Finn currently sits fifth in the driver's rankings, one point behind compatriot Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas was seen as one of the favourites to take Raikkonen's seat in 2016 after an impressive showing for Williams, and as reported by Corriere dello Sport (h/t Autoweek), Ferrari were widely expected to buy out his contract option for 2016, which in turn could have set off an avalanche of changes to the grid.

The likes of Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Nasr and Daniel Ricciardo could have all been affected in some way by a game of musical chairs, but instead, it seems the mass changes may be postponed for a year. F1 Paddock Pass isn't sure it will silence the speculation, however:

So Kimi Raikkonen stays at Ferrari for 2016. I guess that calms down silly season for a bit. Or does it ramp it up massively?! #F1

— F1 Paddock Pass (Back for 2024) (@F1PaddockPass) August 19, 2015

With the new deal now under his belt, Raikkonen is likely to treat the 2016 season as his final year in Formula 1, before retiring and handing his seat over to Bottas, or whichever young driver deemed good enough to partner Vettel by then. Bottas remains the favourite, ahead of Ricciardo and the talented but inexperienced Max Verstappen.  

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Nine days ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix came the news Kimi Raikkonen would have been waiting for.

An article by Corriere dello Sport (h/t Sky Sports) claimed Ferrari, following months of speculation over their intentions for 2016, had agreed a fee of €12 million with Williams for the transfer of Valtteri Bottas, who would partner four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel next season.

Given that the Italian press are rarely wide of the mark when it comes to matters relating to Ferrari, the report—nothing more, nothing less—was praised as The Word of The Lord.

And Raikkonen, after spending the best part of a year trying to convince Ferrari to keep him for one more season, one last dance, was suddenly yesterday's man, bracing himself for being chewed up and spat out by Formula One's most sacred team.

Yet the news, and the apparent sense of closure, seemed to have a positive effect on the 2007 world champion.

Having previously admitted he would retire when his time with Ferrari came to an end, per Crash.net, Raikkonen—as we noted ahead of the Hungarian GP—could approach the final 10 races of the season, and his career, with a degree of freedom.

No longer was he burdened by the Prancing Horse—Kimi Raikkonen was, at long last, driving for Kimi Raikkonen.

There was, then, a certain inevitability that he went on to produce his finest performance since his return to the team, little more than a week after Ferrari seemingly decided to push him into retirement.

After a strong start from fifth on the grid, Raikkonen found himself in second place by Turn 2 after following Vettel around the outside of Lewis Hamilton at the first corner and spooking Nico Rosberg out of the way under braking for the hairpin.

Second place was where he would have remained had his car not failed piece by piece, with Raikkonen first losing a chunk of his front wing on Lap 18 before suffering the dreaded, irreversible MGU-K failure on Lap 40, leaving him significantly down on power.

While he was eventually forced to retire 12 laps from the end, the 59 laps he completed at the Hungaroring proved why Raikkonen—despite failing to win a race for almost three years—remains the perfect team-mate for Vettel.

Fast enough to keep the chasing pack behind but not quite quick enough to challenge Seb, Raikkonen mastered the rear-gunner role in Hungary, acting as the first line of defence and offering Ferrari and Vettel the latitude to control the race and, ultimately, win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWpXVqhIYEE

Such qualities will come in handy should Ferrari produce a championship-winning car in 2016, allowing Raikkonen to contain and suppress the Mercedes drivers as Vettel racks up grand prix victories.

And while Vettel has proven he can succeed in an unhealthy atmosphere—his poor relationship with Mark Webber didn't stop him securing four consecutive titles at Red Bull Racing between 2010 and '13—his personal bond with Raikkonen could be an advantage for Ferrari, with the German telling Sky Sports' William Esler:

I think I have said many times that I am very happy with Kimi, because since day one that I got to know him he hasn’t changed, he is very straight, he hasn’t changed, becoming a world champion that didn’t change him, the years he wasn’t in Formula 1 didn’t change him.

I think it is good for Formula 1 to have him back and it is straightforward—there is no b------t with him and that is the quality I really enjoy. ...

I know we have this season left, and I don't know what the contract for next year entails, but it would be nice to have him on the team for next year.

Vettel's fondness of Raikkonen makes Ferrari's pursuit of the likes of Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom are considered future world champions, bizarre when you consider that Seb—by his own admission—arrived at the Prancing Horse hoping to emulate his boyhood inspiration, Michael Schumacher.

Throughout his five successive championship triumphs with Ferrari, Schumacher was partnered by a clear No. 2 in the shape of Rubens Barrichello and, to all intents and purposes, would never have tolerated the signing of a driver whom he considered a genuine threat.

ON THIS DAY: Rubens Barrichello beats @ScuderiaFerrari teammate Michael Schumacher at the 2002 European GP #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/Igy0x9Kgxd

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2015

It was this selfishness, this sense of self-preservation, that cemented Schumacher's status as the most successful F1 driver of all time.

And should Ferrari ignore Vettel's pleas of resigning Raikkonen and appoint Bottas or Ricciardo—who could both realistically challenge his No. 1 status—there will be significant questions surrounding the team's long-term commitment to the man affectionately known as "Baby Schumi."

This would be particularly compelling in the case of Ricciardo—who, for a time, overtook Bottas as Ferrari's prime target, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson—after the Australian outperformed and ultimately chased Vettel out of Red Bull in 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9zC-95bzv8

When a driver is beaten by their team-mate or engage in a rivalry over a sustained period of time, it is common for them to avoid being partnered by that driver for the remainder of their career, even going to the extreme length of issuing a veto.

Yet should Vettel welcome Ricciardo into his territory for 2016, it would reveal much about his view of his 2014 campaign as well as Ferrari's renewed approach.

Are Ferrari, now under the stewardship of Sergio Marchionne and Maurizio Arrivabene, determined to have the strongest possible lineup, regardless of the affinity and history between their drivers?

Does Vettel regard 2014, his first full season without a win, as a perfect storm in which he initially struggled to adapt to the demands of the V6 turbo machinery and, in any case, was suffering a hangover from his four years of success?

Is he confident of beating Ricciardo in a more controlled environment? Or, with his motivation and reputation now restored, does Vettel believe he can take on anyone and win?

Raikkonen was a dead man walking as Formula One headed for Hungary, and while his poor run of results continued (albeit through no fault of his own), the nature of his performance proved that—though his own title-winning days are almost certainly over—he can still serve Ferrari and his team-mate.

In a title-winning team, Raikkonen can be a valuable, if understated, asset, capable of taking the points away from Vettel's rivals, rather than taking points away from Vettel himself.

Ferrari must seriously consider Vettel's opinion when they come to finalise their 2016 driver lineup, or they will run the risk of alienating their new hero.

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Two wins.

That's all Ferrari ever wanted from the 2015 Formula One season.

Despite the introduction of new personnel, including four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, a chassis designed by James Allison and a vastly improved power unit, the team—even after a promising start to pre-season testing—were willing to settle for just a couple of days in the sun.

All the signs were pointing toward a fresh start and renewed hope in a more productive, cohesive and open atmosphere, yet here were Ferrari seemingly bracing themselves for the same old feelings of disappointment. 

Just a decade after celebrating their sixth consecutive constructors' championship, the most successful outfit in F1 history were now dreaming of lucking into a win here, of sneaking a victory there, of choosing the perfect tyre strategy in a wet race or benefiting from a late-race safety car.

The target, as new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed to ESPN F1's Nate Saunders, was, to many, a sad reflection of Ferrari's fall.

Having endured their first winless season in 21 years in 2014, with their last win as long ago as May 2013, Arrivabene's rather modest aim was almost certainly—given his comments of putting "everyone in the right direction," per the same source—made in the belief that it would take some time for his team to gradually rediscover the art of victory.

Yet a Ferrari grand prix win tends to live longer in the memory than those of other teams.

With herds of mechanics and team members forming a sea of red underneath the podium, waving Italian and yellow flags emblazoned with the prancing horse symbol and roaring the party tune that is the Italian national anthem, a Ferrari victory is an intense sensory and cultural experience.

And the winning feeling Arrivabene feared had disappeared over the course of Ferrari's drought had, in fact, never gone away.

That is the only possible conclusion to make after Ferrari's performances over the first 10 races of 2015, which have seen the team meet their objective at the halfway stage of the campaign.

The work in progress, this plan of two or even three years, has provided instant results, with Vettel—following his own winless campaign in 2014—making a seamless transition from Red Bull Racing to Ferrari and reaching the podium in all but three races.

His 40th and 41st career victories, achieved in Malaysia and Hungary, were among the most impressive of his time in F1, with the German—so often accused of being a passenger in the best car throughout his stint at Red Bull—capitalising upon opportunities to topple reigning world champions Mercedes.

While Ferrari remain less convincing than their Brackley-based rivals—the trials and tribulations of Kimi Raikkonen have often made the Scuderia a one-man team, while reliability issues and occasional pit-stop blunders have cost them points and prizes—the first 10 races of their new era could hardly have gone better.

With an 85-point advantage over Williams, second place in the constructors' standings is virtually assured, and Ferrari, more so than any other team, can approach the second half of the season with a degree of freedom, which could make them a very dangerous proposition in the remaining nine races.

Following his Hungarian Grand Prix win, Vettel told BBC Sport's Andrew Benson how Ferrari "will try absolutely everything and try to make the impossible possible" and win the title, despite trailing current leader Lewis Hamilton by 42 points.

Can Sebastian Vettel 'make the impossible possible' and win the 2015 F1 title? http://t.co/sAoRUbpFIM#F1 #Seb5 pic.twitter.com/zJeDfZ9Cdd

— #DankeSeb ♡ (@sebvettelnews) August 4, 2015

His call to "remain calm and try to do your best and then we see where the journey takes us" was reminiscent of his first championship-winning season in 2010, when his status as the outsider in the title race was a blessing in disguise, allowing Vettel to drive without pressure and lead the standings at the only time it mattered.

But unlike the Red Bull RB6 of five years ago, Ferrari's SF15-T is not the class of the field.

And after Mercedes' response to Vettel's victory in Malaysia, which saw the Silver Arrows win the following seven races, it is likely the Silver Arrows will again retaliate and ensure they will not allow themselves to be beaten in the latter stages of the campaign.

The @ScuderiaFerrari is 1/2 sec slower than @MercedesAMGF1 in middle sector in #HungarianGP - chassis doesn't seem to be developing enough

— James Allen (@Jamesallenonf1) July 25, 2015

Indeed, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes motorsport chief, told Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble that Ferrari's competitiveness has had a beneficial effect on his team, providing them with "a little slap" and inspiring them to maintain and even increase their advantage.

Should Mercedes raise their game from the Belgian GP, there is a distinct possibility that the latter stages of the campaign will become a tale of two men as Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg duel for the crown. 

It would encourage Ferrari to concentrate on next season's car, focusing on a championship fight they are far more likely to win if their rate of progress continues.

Yet, the team's start to the season has revolutionised expectations at Ferrari.

The magic has returned to their Maranello base, and the prancing horse, after years spent stumbling and staggering, has been revived. Squeezing one more victory out of this year should be the aim ahead of the more serious matter of 2016.

After winning the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel sits 42 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One drivers' standings. Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, splits the pair perfectly, 21 points ahead of Vettel.

After the Budapest race, Vettel spoke about his chances of winning the title, saying, "There is still a lot of work to do to catch up but you never know," according to the BBC's Andrew Benson. "I am sure we will try absolutely everything and try to make the impossible possible."

In this case, "impossible" is the right word to use.

With nine grands prix remaining in the season, Vettel needs to outscore Hamilton by an average of nearly five points per race to beat him to the title. And that is not even taking into account whatever Rosberg does in the second half of the year.

Vettel's average finishing position in 2015 is third, but because points are not distributed evenly between the finishing positions, he has averaged 16 points per race (third place is actually worth 15).

To illustrate how difficult it will be for Vettel to catch the Mercs, let's say his average finishing position for the rest of the season is second and he scores 18 points per race (a stretch, considering Hamilton and Rosberg have taken 15 of 20 first- and second-place finishes so far this year). That would give Vettel 322 points at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Hamilton's performance deteriorates and his average finishing position over the last nine races falls to third (it was second for the first 10 races)—he scores just 15 points per race.

Hamilton would end the season with 337 points, while Vettel would score 322.

And someone would still need to pick up the slack from Hamilton's hypothetical stumble. That person would likely be Rosberg, who would probably beat both Hamilton and Vettel to the title in this scenario.

Although Mercedes were caught out in Hungary, both their cars have finished on the podium at every other race this season—and they had three straight one-two finishes before Budapest.

Ferrari's performances, aside from the surprise Hungarian win, have been trending in the opposite direction. As the clear second-best team at the start of the year, a Ferrari driver was on the podium at each of the first six races.

In Canada, the Scuderia arrived touting an improved engine and promptly failed to find the podium for the first time, with Williams' Valtteri Bottas taking third behind the Mercs. In Austria, the Ferraris were off the podium again, with Bottas' team-mate, Felipe Massa, nipping Vettel for third. And at the British Grand Prix, late-race rain helped Vettel jump the Williams and finish third.

Ferrari have already matched the preseason expectations of team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, who said his goal of two victories was "ambitious, but not really unrealistic," according to Sky Sports.

Of course, none of this is to suggest that Ferrari and Vettel abandon the championship chase this year—merely to show what a long shot any title hopes are.

Their goal now should be to continue making performance gains relative to Mercedes and planning for a sustained, realistic title challenge in 2016.

There is already talk that Kimi Raikkonen, who has underperformed since rejoining Ferrari in 2014, will be replaced by his countryman, Bottas, next year. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (h/t Sky Sports), a deal might already be in place.

Another Italian publication, La Gazzetta dello Sport, reported earlier this year that Ferrari increased their F1 budget by €100 million to help catch Mercedes (h/t grandprix247.com).

The pieces are coming together for a great battle between Mercedes and Ferrari, but this season looks like a test run. No matter how much Ferrari improve now, the Silver Arrows are too far ahead. 

After the Hungarian Grand Prix, according to ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson, Ferrari technical director James Allison said, "Our car isn't good enough to challenge for any sort of championship this year. We will do our best to get more and more competitive race by race, but you have to be realistic about where we are working from."

Vettel may not have given up on his 2015 title hopes, but the rest of us should be looking forward to a much closer fight in 2016. Until then, we can enjoy what looks like another race to the wire between Hamilton and Rosberg.

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On an emotional weekend in Budapest, with Jules Bianchi's death weighing on everyone's minds, Sebastian Vettel continued to build his legacy with a flawless drive for Ferrari.

Sunday's thrilling race was a great win for Vettel and Ferrari, a cathartic moment for the sport and a fantastic spectacle for the fans. 

Jules, this is for you http://t.co/IA2jh3Z96M / Jules, questa è per te http://t.co/OCEwVtclhR #HungarianGP #redseason pic.twitter.com/Hl93zeTJOz

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 26, 2015

The entire Hungarian Grand Prix weekend looked to be leading up to another victory for Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton—his sixth in 10 races this year. Hamilton was quickest in all three practice sessions and qualified more than half-a-second ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg and nearly three-quarters-of-a-second clear of Vettel.

But then the race started. And what a race it was!

For the second grand prix in a row, the Mercs were mugged off the line, this time by the Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton also lost a place to Rosberg, exiting the first corner in fourth place.

With adrenaline coursing from the start, instead of regrouping and mounting a sustained challenge, Hamilton compounded his problems by locking his left-front tyre and sliding through the gravel trap at Turn 6, rejoining the race in 10th place.

While Hamilton made his way back up through the field, the Ferraris pulled away from Rosberg at the front. By the time Rosberg made his first pit stop on Lap 21, Vettel was already 10 seconds down the road with Raikkonen three seconds behind.

The Hungaroring's narrow, twisty layout is often compared to Monaco, and with cars banging all afternoon and bodywork littering the circuit, it certainly resembled a grand prix in the principality.

Vettel, though, stayed clear of the chaos.

When he won four world championships in a row for Red Bull, the German faced doubters saying he only won because he had the best car. Now, Vettel certainly does not have the fastest car, but he has still won twice in the first 10 races this season. At this point, there can be no doubting his supreme talent.

The first of those wins, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, came with the fates aligning perfectly in Ferrari's favour. In Hungary, though, it seemed like circumstances were conspiring against Vettel after his quick start.

Around Lap 40, Raikkonen started experiencing problems with his energy recovery system (ERS) and dropped back from Vettel.

Then, as Vettel began Lap 43, Nico Hulkenberg's front wing failed on the start-finish straight, launching him into the tyre barriers at high speed. Hulkenberg walked away from his car, but the safety car was deployed, allowing the marshals to sweep away the debris strewn across the track.

When Hulkenberg crashed, Vettel was 28 seconds ahead of Rosberg in third place. The safety car closed the gap to a few car lengths and Raikkonen's ERS failure allowed Rosberg to pass him immediately at the restart, which came on Lap 49, eliminating Vettel's buffer.

Just before the restart, television viewers heard Hamilton's race engineer tell him he was racing for the win. But as the green flags waved, Hamilton made another mistake: Battling for fourth place, he ran wide into Turn 1 and slammed into the side of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull, necessitating an extra pit stop for a new front wing and earning him a drive-through penalty.

"I definitely had a bad day at the office—a very bad day at the office—but the team did a great job with the calls so I could at least get a couple of points," Hamilton said after the race, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders.

At the front, Rosberg was within a second of Vettel, and Ricciardo was bearing down on both of them with softer tyres. It seemed like only a matter of time before one or both would find their way past the Ferrari.

Again, Vettel remained calm and, again, those chasing him faltered.

On Lap 64 of 69, Ricciardo braked late into Turn 1, where he had previously passed Valtteri Bottas and Raikkonen. This time, Rosberg cut back across the face of the Red Bull and Ricciardo's front wing clipped Rosberg's left-rear tyre, puncturing it.

"I came from a long way back—I thought it was clean but Nico came back, he touched my tyre and he touched my wing," said Ricciardo, according to the official F1 website. "We both ruined our chance of a win, but I wanted to leave it all out there."

From there, Vettel cruised to victory, 16 seconds ahead of Ricciardo's team-mate, Daniil Kvyat, who scored his first-ever podium finish. Ricciardo recovered to finish third and, despite all the drama, Hamilton finished sixth, two places ahead of Rosberg, extending his championship lead to 21 points.

The star of the day, though, was undoubtedly Vettel. He controlled the race from the start and never looked flustered. Although Mercedes are still the class of the field, Vettel has proven that he and Ferrari can, on occasion, challenge them head-to-head.

Vettel's victory was the 41st of his career, tying him with Ayrton Senna for third on the all-time list (in 12 fewer starts).

"It’s a great day for Ferrari but not as great as it could have been," Vettel said in the post-race press conference. "Obviously a bit of a shame for Kimi—it's not my job but all the bulls--t that’s been going around recently, I think both of us were driving a very consistent race and deserved a one-two today."

The drivers' title still seems out of reach for Vettel this year. The Hungarian win pulled him to within 42 points of Hamilton, although that is still a mountain to overcome in a slower car. But for those clamouring for a changing of the guard at the front of the grid, Vettel and Ferrari are laying the groundwork for a legitimate championship challenge in 2016.

In the meantime, Vettel's legend continues to grow among the sport's all-time greats—and he is still just 28 years old.

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For the first time in 2015, Kimi Raikkonen will enter a race weekend with nothing to lose when he takes to the track in Hungary.

Throughout the opening nine races of the season, there was a feeling that Raikkonen was constantly under the microscope, that he—despite his world-champion status and 20 grand prix victories—had something to prove either in his battle alongside Sebastian Vettel or in his fight for his Ferrari future.

Having beaten his team-mate on just one occasion thus far, however—as the four-time title winner has cemented his position as the Prancing Horse's prime focus—and with mounting speculation over the identity of Vettel's team-mate for 2016, it seems the damage has been done.

Bad luck, as they say, comes in threes. What appears to be Raikkonen's final season in Formula One will be defined by that three-race period between Monaco and Austria. This period began with him hitting the guardrail at Sainte Devote in FP3—severely compromising his qualifying preparations—and ended as he slid along the barrier on the back straight at the Red Bull Ring.

A decent upturn in form at Silverstone, where he outqualified Vettel on merit for the first time this year, was futile, and last week came the biggest indication yet that Raikkonen's career is coming to a close.

According to Corriere dello Sport (h/t Sky Sports), Ferrari have reached an agreement with Williams to sign Valtteri Bottas for €12 million for 2016, leaving Raikkonen, whose option with the team expires at the end of July, out in the cold.

The team's move to sign Bottas, if true, marks a considerable turnaround following Ferrari's comments in the immediate aftermath of April's Bahrain Grand Prix, the scene of Raikkonen's only podium finish of the season. Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene told Autosport's Ben Anderson and Lawrence Barretto:

I am really happy for Kimi. I can officially state that he's back.

He showed what a race animal he is. Kimi is giving the best when he is a bit in trouble...

If you're asking me if he deserves to renew the option now, I'm going to say yes.

But if I'm going to say yes, I do not want the driver to fall asleep.

The notion that Raikkonen performs at his best when his back is pinned against a wall is a myth, for the most memorable moments in the Finn's career have come on days when he has had nothing to lose.

Just as Giancarlo Fisichella, Raikkonen's final victim on the last lap of the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, a race the then-McLaren driver won from 17th on the grid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr4qnHotwGw

Just ask Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who entered the final two rounds of the 2007 season under the illusion that the championship battle was a two-horse race, only to finish as joint-runners up as Raikkonen was victorious in China and Brazil.

Raikkonen's career has been defined by his knack of producing ferocious performances when one least expects it, and it would be no surprise if he were to produce his best race of his second spell with Ferrari just as the team begin to plan a future without him.

The 35-year-old has always excelled at the Hungarian Grand Prix, often regarded as a home race for Finnish drivers, claiming seven podium finishes at the Budapest track. Even during his worst-ever season in 2014, he produced one of his cleanest drives of the year at the Hungaroring, salvaging sixth place after starting 16th.

And with Hungary being one of just four races on the 2015 calendar Vettel has failed to win, Raikkonen—should Williams revert back to their natural position of third in the pecking order—may be the closest challenger to Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg this weekend.

When drivers raise their form at the mid-season stage, they are often, rather cynically, accused of doing so with "contract time" in mind, trying to catch the eye of team bosses across the paddock in the hope of finding a seat in F1's annual game of musical chairs.

Yet should Raikkonen—who, per Crash.net, has already said he will retire should his Ferrari deal not be renewed—enjoy a resurgence of some kind in Hungary, it should not be interpreted as the act of a driver desperate to remind us of his talent.

It should not be seen as a former world champion, whose best days are unquestionably behind him, making a too-little-too-late attempt to protect his position from a bunch of upstarts.

Rather, it should be viewed as the performance of someone marking the beginning of the rest of his career. 

Raikkonen will relish his freedom in Hungary.

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