F1 2018: Hamilton vs Vettel- Championship comparison

#3 Number of poles (7-5)

The new era Formula One cars have shown difficulty unleashing their complete race pace when stuck behind traffic, and, even with the DRS enabled, it is not an easy task to overtake. The width of the cars has added to that challenge. Not to mention, the track position gives you a slight edge over your competitors. However, pit stop strategies are extremely important to capitalise on the start and seal off the result.

Lewis Hamilton has the scaled tipped in his favour against Sebastian Vettel when it comes to pole positions. While the Briton has seven to his name, Vettel had secured the first place on the starting grid five times.

The German was seemingly stronger during qualifying at the start of the season. With the exception of Australia, he scored a pole position in three of the first four races and his next two poles came during Canada and Germany. Surprisingly, he has converted only two of those to race victories, in Bahrain and Germany.

Lewis, meanwhile, has had a scattering of poles throughout the season and has managed to go on to win the Grand Prix four out of those seven times.