page_title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton
section_title: 2018 season: 'Fight for five' Vs Vettel
hierarchical_section_title: Formula One career of Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / 2018 season: 'Fight for five' Vs Vettel
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Hamilton und Vettel schütteln einander die Hände nach dem Qualifying
context_page_description: Lewis Hamilton started his professional Formula One career in 2007, driving for McLaren. He won his first title in 2008 with the team to become the then-youngest champion in the history of the sport. After four more seasons with McLaren during which he failed to finish higher than fourth in the standings, Hamilton moved to Mercedes, with whom he has won a further five titles in 2014, 2015 and from 2017–2019.
context_section_description: The 2018 season was the first time that two four-time World Champions, Hamilton and Vettel, would be competing for a fifth title and was billed as the Fight for Five by journalists and fans. Hamilton started the season by taking a record seventh pole position in Melbourne, but finished second behind Vettel, who used a timely virtual safety car period triggered by the stricken Haas of Romain Grosjean to pass Hamilton before successfully defending the position until the finish. After finishing on the podium in Bahrain and finishing fourth in Shanghai, Hamilton won his first race of the season in Azerbaijan, after an error from Vettel allowed Hamilton to take second place, before he inherited the race lead from teammate Bottas who suffered an unfortunate late puncture. The victory gave Hamilton the lead of the championship for the first time in 2018. After the race, Hamilton was late to the podium ceremony to console Bottas. At the next race, Hamilton took his first consecutive victories of the season as he won from pole in Spain in Mercedes' first 1–2 finish of the season. However, Hamilton relinquished the championship lead over the next two rounds in Monaco and Canada.
  In Formula One's return to France, Hamilton won from pole while championship leader Vettel caused a collision in turn one, demoting him to the back of the grid from where he ultimately finished fifth, allowing Hamilton to retake the championship lead by 14 points. In Austria Hamilton suffered his first retirement since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix due to a mechanical issue, bringing an end to a record 33-race streak without retirements, all of which he finished in the points. Vettel's third-place finish meant the championship lead swung back in the German's favour. Despite starting from pole at Silverstone, Hamilton was denied a home victory after a collision with Räikkönen on the first lap left him virtually last. Despite the spin, Hamilton recovered to finish in second place while Vettel stormed to victory. In the week leading up to the German Grand Prix, Hamilton signed a two-year contract with Mercedes, reported to be worth up to £40 million, making Hamilton the best paid driver in the history of Formula One. A hydraulic issue in qualifying meant Hamilton could only manage fourteenth place on the grid. In the race, Hamilton took one of the best wins of his career as he worked his way through the midfield and handled changing weather conditions, compounded by another mistake from Vettel who crashed into the barriers from the lead of his home race. The championship lead swapped hands yet again, this time in favour of the Briton. Hamilton took consecutive victories again, and his fifth win of the season as he won from pole in Hungary, extending his championship lead to 24 points entering the summer break.
  After the summer break, Hamilton returned in formidable form; winning four of the next five races including four consecutive Grand Prix victories. The season resumed in Belgium where Hamilton took his sixth pole position of the season. However, the Ferrari of Vettel went on to take victory on the power-sensitive Spa circuit after passing Hamilton on the first lap. Hamilton took full advantage of another error from title-rival Vettel, who spun on the first lap as Hamilton passed him around the outside, to take victory at Monza in front of the Tifosi after passing pole-sitter Räikkönen with eight laps to go. At the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix, a track at which Mercedes had struggled for performance in the hybrid era, Hamilton took an unexpected pole position with one of the finest laps of his career. Hamilton himself said the lap "felt like magic", while team-boss Toto Wolff described it as "stardust", commenting "only he will know what he did around that lap... it's surreal". Hamilton converted his pole position into a win in the race, extending his championship lead over Vettel who finished third behind Red Bull's Verstappen.
  Hamilton took a controversial victory in Russia where, after falling behind Vettel in the pit stops before passing him on track, Me
caption: The 2018 season was the first time in the sport that two four-time World Champions–Hamilton and Vettel–would be competing for a fifth title.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 550D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2018:10:07 16:01:15", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "204", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8056", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8395", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/2000", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:06:30 16:00:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:06:30 16:00:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "11", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "300", "EXIF SubSecTime": "01", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "01", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "01", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3522", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2641", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7932", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "691200/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}