How Sebastian Vettel handed Lewis Hamilton the title

… who's the fastest of them all? The answer at the start of the season is easy: Sebastian Vettel. With victories in Melbourne and Bahrain, the Ferrari driver gets off to a perfect start. Hamilton only manages second and third-place finishes and can only look on as Vettel celebrates.

Vettel's good run ends in Shanghai after he is attacked by Max Verstappen, the cars collide and spin off course as Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen overtake them. Nico Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso also move ahead of Vettel who finishes seventh, losing valuable points to Hamilton in second.

That could have gone better. After the safety car's exit, Vettel attempts too much too soon on the narrow Baku track, trying to overtake Bottas. The German brakes too late and too hard causing a tire imbalance and costing him places. Hamilton, Räikkönen and Sergio Perez overtake and, with Valteri Bottas suffering a flat tire towards the end, it's the Briton who celebrates his first win of 2018.

In Barcelona, Vettel can't compete with the speed of Hamilton's Mercedes. In desperation, Ferrari opts for a new strategy and gives Vettel fresh tires during a virtual safety car phase. But the extra pit stop ends up costing the German a podium place as he finishes fourth behind Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen.

After finishing second ahead of Hamilton in Monte Carlo, everything clicks into place for Vettel at the sixth GP of the season in Montreal. Pole position, a 50th Grand-Prix career win and top spot in the drivers' championship – a perfect weekend for the German! Hamilton finishes the race a frustrating fifth.

But the joy in the Ferrari camp doesn't last. At the next GP in Le Castellet, Vettel collides with Bottas and immediately falls behind – not helped by a subsequent time penalty. The German manages to fight his way back to fifth but Hamilton wins the day – and also retakes first place in the championship.

Summer belongs to Ferrari. In Austria, Vettel takes advantage of Hamilton's absence to come third before taking the crown on "enemy territory" at Silverstone. The German overtakes Hamilton – in pole – right from the start before the Briton falls even further back following a collision with Räikkönen. Hamilton produces an impressive comeback but it's only enough for second behind Vettel.

The Ferrari is the superior car at this point and Vettel looks like a sure bet in Hockenheim – but the race leader loses control on the rain-soaked track 15 laps before the finish. The German bangs angrily on his steering wheel and can only look on as Hamilton, who started from 14th in the grid, lifts the trophy.

In Budapest, Vettel is once again left wondering how it is that, despite having the better car, it's his opponent Hamilton who is stood highest on the podium. The answers: weak qualifying, poor pit stops, and the wrong tires. The German manages to sneak past Bottas into second towards the end but Hamilton now has a 24-point lead in the drivers' standings.

Finally! A mistake-free race from Ferrari! Vettel cruises around the hilly circuit in Spa to celebrate a victory that was never in doubt – that's what it's all about for an F1 driver. He overtakes Hamilton on the first lap and never looks back. The championship is wide open again.

Disaster strikes again in Monza as Vettel, starting in second behind teammate Räikkönen, crashes into Hamilton from the start and immediately falls behind. Needlessly, since he would have overtaken the Briton eventually. But his impatience costs him and the chance is gone as Hamilton triumphs.

Ferrari get their tire choices wrong again in Singapore. Vettel rides on ultrasofts as his opponents go for a harder variant. The result: Hamilton and Verstappen's tires last longer. And because the Briton and the Dutchman both leave the pits ahead of Vettel, the German is quickly left behind.

The Ferrari is no longer the faster car! In Sochi, Hamilton shows just what his Mercedes is capable of and keeps Vettel at bay, the German only leading briefly before the Briton overtakes again. And when Mercedes order race leader Bottas to allows his teammate to go first, it's game over. Bottas holds off Vettel and Hamilton wins again.

Another day, another fiasco for Vettel – this time in Japan. First, Ferrari make a mess of qualifying as Vettel starts in eighth. Then he crashes into Verstappen and falls even further back, eventually recovering to finish sixth. Hamilton wins and increases his lead to 67 points. Now on to Austin – match-point Hamilton.

Ironically, one of Vettel's best races of the season came too late to stop Hamilton. Vettel drove through a tricky race in Mexico to finish second, one spot short of the finish he needed to keep his title hopes alive. Hamilton finished in fourth to seal the title, but afterwards Vettel congratulated the Briton on a special achievement. Next season, the rivals will write their next chapter.