Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, Gerhard Berger has predicted a “big battle” between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for the 2018 championship. The former Scuderia Ferrari driver’s prediction comes as the tension in this year’s title battle fizzles, following the Maranello team and Sebastian Vettel’s horror three-race tour through Asia, which has most likely compromised the chances of fighting for the 2017 F1 title against Mercedes.
Gerhard Berger says that Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel should not consider himself “a loser” and that the Italian team has to come back strong next season: “Vettel should not feel as a loser of 2017.” – the former McLaren and Ferrari driver told leading German automobile magazine based in Hamburg Auto Bild – “Ferrari made a giant leap from last season and put Mercedes under much more pressure than was expected. They are on the right track. In 2018 there will be a big battle between Hamilton and Vettel, both of whom will have four world championship titles by then.”
Gerhard Berger, now the DTM series boss, was speaking last weekend at the finale of the German touring car championship at Hockenheim. The event was attended by Sebastian Vettel himself, as the Scuderia Ferrari driver watched over the progress of his younger brother Fabian in the Audi TT Cup support race. When asked why Sebastian Vettel’s championship campaign collapsed so suddenly in 2017, Gerhard Berger added: “It may be that Ferrari was surprised how well they were doing and put too much pressure on. If you develop faster than planned then the risk of defects increases.” – the Austrian former Formula One racing driver concluded, as reported by the German media on Monday.
Sebastian Vettel is now 59 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the driver standings, ahead of the 2017 United States Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place on 22 October at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
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