Mercedes are only a best 1/2 with Boylesports to win a fifth successive F1 Constructors’ Championship in 2018. That would trump the four-year winning run of Red Bull around the end of the last decade but still leave the Silver Arrows one short of the six consecutive Constructors’ Championships that Ferrari achieved between 1999 and 2004.
It is, of course , a major plus to have Lewis Hamilton in their stable. Finland’s Valtteri Bottas is his team-mate again at Mercedes this year but he will probably have to surpass last year’s three victories to earn an extension to his contract, which ends at the end of the season. Bottas eventually finished 58 points behind Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship last year, falling away in the second half of the campaign after a promising start.
F1 Teams, Engines and Drivers 2018
Engines: Mercedes44. Lewis Hamilton
77. Valtteri BottasTest/reserve/third drivers
TBCRed BullEngines: TAG-Heuer (Renault)3. Daniel Ricciardo
33. Max Verstappen
Test/reserve/third drivers
TBC
Ferrari
Engines: Ferrari
5. Sebastian Vettel
7. Kimi Raikkonen
Test/reserve/third drivers
Daniil Kvyat
Antonio Giovinazzi
Force India
Engines: Mercedes
11. Sergio Perez
31. Esteban Ocon
Test/reserve/third drivers
Nicholas Latifi
Nikita Mazepin
Williams
Engines: Mercedes
18. Lance Stroll
35. Sergey Sirotkin
Test/reserve/third drivers
Robert Kubica
Oliver Rowland
McLaren
Engines: Renault
14. Fernando Alonso
2. Stoffel Vandoorne
Test/reserve/third drivers
Lando Norris
Toro Rosso
Engines: Honda
10. Pierre Gasly
28. Brendon Hartley
Test/reserve/third drivers
TBC
Haas
Engines: Ferrari
8. Romain Grosjean
20. Kevin Magnussen
Test/reserve/third drivers
TBC
Renault
Engines: Renault
27. Nico Hulkenberg
55. Carlos Sainz Jnr
Test/reserve/third drivers
Jack Aitken
Artem Markelov
Sauber
Engines: Alfa Romeo
9. Marcus Ericsson
16. Charles Leclerc
Test/reserve/third drivers
TBC
The halo is the most striking addition to cars in 2018 but not the only talking point. It will be interesting to see how Toro Rosso fare this season as they are now the only team powered by Honda engines. The Italian minnows have won only one Grand Prix since evolving from Minardi at the end of 2005 and that was 10 years ago when Sebastian Vettel was behind the wheel. They have no chance of winning the Constructors’ Championship (2000/1 in places) but there are signs that Honda are beginning to find some reliability and that begs the question – did McLaren jump ship too soon in switching to Renault for their power units? Winter testing suggests it may be the car and not the engines that are the problem.
What was ominous at the Catalunya circuit, for the other teams in F1, was that Mercedes have probably improved again on last year’s championship-winning design. The new W09 completed more laps than any of its rivals in Barcelona and wasn’t found wanting. That said, it wasn’t as quick as either Red Bull or Ferrari but was rarely pushed to its limit.
It could be that Red Bull will prove the biggest threat to Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship this year. Priced up at 19/5 by Marathonbet, the Milton Keynes-based team undoubtedly have a quicker car than last year – but will it last the pace of a 21-race campaign? Ferrari are available at a general 4/1 ahead of the first Grand Prix of the year in Melbourne.
F1 Constructors’ Championship 2018 Latest Odds
Mercedes 1/2, Red Bull 19/5, Ferrari 4/1, McLaren 33/1, Renault 300/1, Force India 500/1, Williams 1000/1, Toro Rosso 2000/1, Haas 3000/1, Sauber 5000/1
