Complete calendar with 20 races
The 2017 Formula 1 season promised a genuine championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, as Ferrari emerged from their competitive slumber to mount a sustained challenge to Mercedes' hybrid-era dominance. Hamilton ultimately secured his fourth World Championship and third with Mercedes, finishing 46 points ahead of Vettel, but the margin belied how close the battle had been through the season's first half before Ferrari's challenge dramatically collapsed in a crushing sequence of Asian races.
The championship fight between Hamilton and Vettel reignited one of F1's great modern rivalries, pitting two of the era's best drivers in competitive machinery for the first time since their karting days. Vettel led the championship for 12 of the season's 20 rounds, never by more than 25 points, suggesting Ferrari had finally produced a car capable of challenging Mercedes consistently. The SF70H, designed under the new wider-car regulations that added 200mm of width and featured wider tires, suited Vettel's driving style and gave him the tools to attack Mercedes' supremacy. The early-season momentum suggested 2017 might finally break Mercedes' stranglehold on the sport.
The Singapore Grand Prix proved to be the championship's decisive turning point and the moment Vettel's title hopes effectively died. Starting from pole position on what was supposed to be Ferrari's strongest circuit, Vettel was caught in a catastrophic first-lap incident when he squeezed teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen at the start. The resulting collision eliminated both Ferraris and Verstappen immediately, handing victory to Hamilton who had started fifth. The swing from a potential Vettel victory to Hamilton inheriting the win transformed a three-point Hamilton lead into a commanding 28-point advantage. Ferrari's subsequent reliability failures in Malaysia and strategic errors in Japan compounded the damage, effectively ending Vettel's championship challenge.
Lewis Hamilton's ninth victory of the season came at the Mexican Grand Prix, where he clinched his fourth World Championship with two races remaining. The title success confirmed Hamilton's place among F1's all-time greats, joining the elite company of Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, and Sebastian Vettel as a four-time champion. Hamilton's season featured dominant performances in Spain, Britain, and Belgium, combined with opportunistic wins when Ferrari faltered. His consistency and ability to capitalize on rivals' mistakes proved decisive, particularly as Mercedes' car development kept pace with Ferrari's upgrades through the crucial European phase of the championship.
Sebastian Vettel claimed five victories for Ferrari, including brilliant drives in Australia, Monaco, and Hungary where he extracted maximum performance from the SF70H. His aggressive racing style sometimes overstepped boundaries, particularly in Baku where he deliberately drove into Hamilton's car during a Safety Car period, earning a 10-second stop-go penalty and widespread criticism. The incident highlighted the intensity of their battle but also raised questions about Vettel's temperament under championship pressure. Despite Ferrari's late-season fade, Vettel's performances through the first half demonstrated he remained one of the grid's elite drivers when provided competitive machinery.
Valtteri Bottas replaced the retired Nico Rosberg at Mercedes and delivered a solid debut season, securing three victories in Russia, Austria, and Abu Dhabi while finishing third in the championship. The Finnish driver proved to be an ideal teammate for Hamilton, quick enough to contribute points to Mercedes' Constructors' Championship but without the internal tensions that had characterized the Hamilton-Rosberg partnership. Daniel Ricciardo won in Azerbaijan for Red Bull, capitalizing on the Hamilton-Vettel collision controversy, while Max Verstappen claimed victories in Malaysia and Mexico, showcasing his emerging talent despite reliability issues plaguing Red Bull's Renault power units.
The 2017 season marked the end of McLaren's troubled partnership with Honda, as the team endured their worst-ever campaign with just 30 points. Fernando Alonso's frustrations boiled over multiple times, most notably when he skipped Monaco to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Williams struggled after strong recent seasons, while Force India continued their impressive run as F1's most efficient midfield team. The new regulations produced faster, more physically demanding cars that challenged drivers but made overtaking more difficult, sparking debates about F1's direction.
Mercedes secured their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship despite Ferrari's strong challenge, finishing 146 points clear to continue their unprecedented run of dominance. The Silver Arrows' ability to develop their car effectively throughout the season, combined with Hamilton's consistency and Bottas' solid supporting role, proved too much for Ferrari to overcome. The season demonstrated that while Ferrari had closed the gap significantly, Mercedes remained the benchmark team in terms of operational excellence, strategy, and reliability. The promise of a genuine multi-team title fight in 2018 provided hope that F1's competitive balance might finally shift after years of Mercedes dominance.