F1: Drivers with the most podiums in 2018

The 2018 F1 season saw 21 races being held for the first time in the history of the sport. The long yet exciting season was filled with its share of thrilling moments, especially those which included the drivers fighting for podium spots.

The gap between the top three teams and the midfield is vast. It is evident by the fact that apart from the leading six drivers, only Sergio Perez scored a podium during the year in Azerbaijan. Daniel Ricciardo recorded two wins to his name and those were the only times he graced the podium with his smile.

The rest 60 spots over the course of the year went to drivers from Mercedes and Ferrari, and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, which came as no surprise to anyone. Hopefully, from the next season onward, more teams can start competing at the front and bring a fight to the front-runners.

Here are the drivers with the most number of podium finishes for 2018:

#5 Valtteri Bottas (8)

Valtteri Bottas is fifth on the list with eight podiums to his name. He is ahead only of Daniel Ricciardo among the driver of the best three teams, and the Australian had a championship marred with retirements and accidents.

Bottas was effectively the number 2 driver of Mercedes, especially during the second half of the season. By his own admission, 2018 was the worst season of the 29-year-old's career, and it shows in the vast gap of points that separate him in the drivers’ standings from his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

A tire puncture in Azerbaijan resulted in him losing out on a sure-shot win. It can also be said that Bottas was robbed of a win in Russia due to team orders, but the decision to implement them was sealed due to a poor start to the season by the Finn.

Valtteri did not score a single victory throughout the year, despite being in the best car, according to the constructor’s and driver’s titles.

However, it would be too harsh to say that the Silver Arrows driver did not have high points throughout the season. He finished runner-up on seven occasions and showed he had the pace time and again by bagging the most number of fastest laps in Grands Prix.

#4 Max Verstappen (11)

In 2016, Max Verstappen became the youngest podium finisher in the history of Formula One. Since then, the 21-year-old has held onto the record as Lance Stroll missed out by a few days the year after that. After one taste of the feeling, Max has taken a liking to being on the rostrum.

Verstappen could not become the youngest ever pole-sitter in Mexico when Daniel Ricciardo went faster than him during his last qualifying lap. However, the Dutch driver has been in sublime form as he has pushed his Red Bull to finish among the top three, eleven times this year.

For the Mexican Grand Prix, he slipstreamed past his teammate to steal the lead on the first lap and then gradually built up a gap to grab a victory. He drove in a similarly admirable manner during the Austrian GP, making full use of the strategic mistakes of Mercedes and his own overtaking skills to reach the top step of the podium.

Verstappen snatched the fourth place on the driver’s standings from Valtteri Bottas during the ultimate race of the year in Abu Dhabi. In the second half of the season, he strung together five consecutive top-three finishes to make the switch in the table possible.

#2 Kimi Räikkönen (12)

Kimi Räikkönen may be making a move back to Sauber F1 team, but the swap between him and Charles Leclerc is not on the back of having a bad season. The ‘Iceman’ has 12 podiums to his name for the duration of the 2018 Formula One season.

The Finn finished behind the two major title rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, in the driver’s standings, much to his chagrin as he had not wanted to attend the FIA end of the year gala.

The 39-year-old scored a single victory in the United States during the year. The win came after a 113 race draught as his last victory was back in 2013. He also showed thundering pace in Monza when he recorded the fastest Formula One lap ever during his qualifying stint. Alas, he couldn’t convert pole into victory because of tire degradation.

#2 Sebastian Vettel (12)

Sebastian Vettel fell short in getting his hands on the coveted world champion trophy, and similarly, he also fell short in scoring the most number of podiums for the season with 12 in total for the year. The German succeeded in finishing a race among the top three positions twelve times in 2018, same as his teammate, Kimi Räikkönen.

Some of Sebastian's finest performances of the year came in Great Britain, Belgium and Bahrain. At Silverstone, he slipped past Lewis Hamilton on the initial lap and then built a gap to the rest of the field to score a victory.

Vettel did something similar at the Belgian Grand Prix when he overtook Lewis before the safety car was deployed for a first lap crash. In Bahrain, he managed his tires after he started from pole and held onto his lead till the chequered flag was out.

#1 Lewis Hamilton (17)

Lewis Hamilton leads the pack with a whopping 17 podium appearances out of 21 races that were held in 2018. Evidently, he only finished outside the top three on four occasions this season. The consistency depicts why he not just won the title but did so with an 88 point gap over the next driver.

The Briton ended up on the top step an impressive eleven times this season. His victory in Germany showcased a masterclass when he climbed up from 14th on the grid in a rain-affected Grand Prix. Similarly, a strong drive from start to finish handed him skillful wins in Spain and Italy, among others.

Mercedes also need to be acknowledged in the large hand they have in this. The silver arrows have been on their toes throughout the year and unlike other teams, reliability has rarely affected the constructors. After all, you don't win five consecutive world titles by being mediocre.