Red Bull Motorsports
F1
The 17 pics of the '17 F1 season
These are the images of the 2017 Formula One championship – and the stories behind them.
Prancing horse bolts
Vettel got Ferrari off to a flyer in Melbourne
© Ferrari Media
After a winless 2016 season, Sebastian Vettel raised red hopes when he took the season-opener in Australia, the Ferrari driver taking a championship lead he'd hold until September.
There's nothing like your first time
Bottas' Russian win was an emotional moment
© Daimler AG
Valtteri Bottas became the 107th driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix, the new Mercedes pilot fending off Vettel to win in round four in Sochi.
A ferocious fight
Vettel and Hamilton raced as close as could be in Barcelona
© Pirelli
Vettel and Lewis Hamilton had shadow-boxed for the best part of 10 F1 seasons, one enjoying success as the other one struggled to compete for the title. With little between Ferrari and Mercedes at the start of 2017, the pair slugged it out in Spain, Hamilton edging ahead to win a fierce battle. Such was their pace that third-placed Daniel Ricciardo was 75 seconds behind, and the only driver not lapped.
Playing second fiddle
Raikkonen looked like he'd prefer to be anywhere but the Monaco podium
© Ferrari Media
Kimi Raikkonen took his first pole in nine years when he aced qualifying at Monaco, but when Ferrari pitted him earlier than Vettel on race day, the Finn was stuck in second place as Vettel took the trophy – and wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
How did that happen?
Ricciardo won the year's craziest race in a Baku barnstormer
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Forget the endless analysis that comes with wrapping up most Grands Prix; Ricciardo's immediate reaction after winning from 10th on the grid in Azerbaijan following a rare qualifying shunt said it all. "You seriously couldn’t make it up," he (naturally) grinned afterwards.
Stroll's rare run
The Canadian kept his head on a chaotic afternoon in Baku
© Williams/LAT Photographic
Lance Stroll had the predictable ups and downs that come with being an 18-year-old rookie in the most unforgiving of racing environments, but for one Sunday in Baku, the Williams driver was superb, finishing third to be the only driver outside Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to make a 2017 podium.
Good while it lasted
Things were rosy for Verstappen – and then the race started …
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
An army of orange-clad fans at the Red Bull Ring gave Max Verstappen plenty to smile about before the Austrian Grand Prix. It didn't last long; one corner into the race, Daniil Kvyat's shunt with Fernando Alonso sent the out-of-control McLaren spiralling into Verstappen's path, the latter two going no further.
(Almost) all-in for the fans
The London street demo was a massive success
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
F1 took to the streets of London before the British Grand Prix, Ricciardo and his colleagues thrilling a crowd of more than 100,000 with plenty of tyre smoke and doughnuts. The one driver not present? Home hero Hamilton, who elected to take a pre-Silverstone holiday instead.
He's behind you …
Ricciardo bullied his way through at the British GP
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
In a season where overtaking fell by almost half of the completed passes from 2016, Ricciardo bucked the trend at Silverstone, scything past 13 rivals as he came from the back of the grid to fifth. For the year, Ricciardo had 43 passes across the 20 races to lead the field.
Bulls come to blows
Ricciardo slammed Verstappen's "amateur" move in Hungary
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Ricciardo was incensed when teammate Verstappen crashed into him on lap one in Hungary, the Australian making his displeasure obvious with words and gestures as he trudged back to the pits. After the race, a meeting in private – no management, no media – between the pair defused a potentially poisonous situation.
Getting hot in Hungary
Hulkenberg sparked a war of words with Magnussen
© Renault Sport
Nico Hulkenberg's Renault sent sparks flying at the Hungaroring, but the German set off a more explosive situation after the race, after a hard dice with Kevin Magnussen saw the Haas driver hit with a five-second penalty. Hulkenberg interrupted a TV interview to call Magnussen "the most unsporting driver". The Dane's response? "Suck my balls, honey." Magnussen's team boss Gunther Steiner later labelled Hulkenberg "a bully".
Opposing forces
Perez v Ocon went to another level in Belgium
© Sahara Force India
Force India's Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon had tension in Canada and contact in Baku, but their two clashes at Spa-Francorchamps – where Perez squeezed his teammate into the wall as the pair plunged down the hill towards the super-fast Eau Rouge corner – was too much for Ocon, who said the Mexican "tried to kill me two times".
Two good
Mercedes made mincemeat of the rest at Monza
© Daimler AG
Vettel and Ferrari came to Monza in the series lead, but Hamilton and Bottas thrashed the red cars at Ferrari's home race for a Mercedes 1-2 – and Hamilton took a championship advantage he'd never relinquish.
The moment the decided the title?
It was carnage off the start in the spray in Singapore
© Steven Tee/LAT Images/Pirelli
When Vettel squeezed Verstappen into Raikkonen seconds after the start in Singapore, all three cars crashed out before the field made it to the first corner, Hamilton taking advantage with a win at a circuit where Mercedes expected to struggle.
A long time coming
Verstappen took his second GP win in Sepang's final F1 race
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen had endured so much bad luck – mechanical failures twinned with being part of other driver's accidents – that his victory in Malaysia was greeted with as much relief as sheer joy. "To win here was unexpected," he admitted afterwards.
A fond farewell
Massa received a stirring send-off at Interlagos
© Williams/LAT Photographic
Felipe Massa rode his emotions to 11 Grand Prix wins and a near-miss of the 2008 world title driving for Ferrari, and soaked up the adulation from his home fans one final time in Brazil before ending his 269-race F1 career with Williams at the end of the season.
Job done
A Silver Arrows celebration that's becoming commonplace …
© Daimler AG
A final post-season selfie for Hamilton with Mercedes management and staff at the team's UK base ruled a line under 2017 – and with four drivers' and constructors' titles on the bounce, you'd be a brave person to bet against Mercedes doing the double again next season.
