Sebastian Vettel revealed that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso made his life really difficult on track.
Vettel’s main rivals in F1 have been Alonso and Hamilton. When the German was at Red Bull, he drove arguably the best car at the time. In spite of that, Alonso in his Ferrari was always out there pushing him to the limit and was very close to winning the Title on several occasions.
In spite of the pressure Alonso put on him, Vettel managed to win four back-to-back Titles during his time at the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. However, his story at Ferrari was completely different. He joined the Maranello-based outfit in 2015 and spent six seasons with them where his main rival was Hamilton.
#F1: Sebastian Vettel on the toughest driver he’s fought and “who made your life hardest?”:
🗣️ | “Lewis [Hamilton], especially when I was at Ferrari. Lewis has always been right up there. Before that, it was probably Fernando [Alonso] when he was at Ferrari.”
— deni (@fiagirly) October 12, 2022
Vettel’s rivalry with Hamilton was different because he was on the losing end more often than not. His move to Ferrari was seen as a match made in heaven and people felt that the former Red Bull driver would help them win the World Championship. Unfortunately for him, Hamilton at the moment was driving for a team that dominated the sport.
Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel.
Abu Dhabi, 2018. pic.twitter.com/5yp066MajH— iesh🍒 (@LEWISHAMIL7ON) July 14, 2021
Regardless, Vettel on his day always put up a strong fight. He shared some iconic moments with the two legendary drivers on several occasions on track.
Sebastian Vettel battles to the finish line with rival Fernando Alonso
Suzuka is Vettel’s favorite circuit on the calendar as he has stated previously. With 2022 being his last year in the Sport, the 35-year-old was really pleased to be back in Japan one last time.
Overall, it has been a very underwhelming year for Aston Martin and him. However, he and the team have shown some progress in the last few races.
It was THIS close between Vettel and Alonso for P6 🤏
Just 0.011s was the difference – or just under a metre 🤯#F1 #Autosport #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/iUN7AS0Nnv
— Autosport (@autosport) October 9, 2022
Fans were also left in awe after Vettel and Alonso provided them with a photograph finish. The two drivers were right next to each other when they crossed the finish line after a great battle for the sixth place. The gap between the two of them was just 0.01 seconds!
Alonso will replace Vettel to fuel Aston Martin’s Title hopes
Aston Martin are a very ambitious team and it’s no secret that they are hungry for success. They aim to challenge for the Title in the coming years. Despite not performing so far, they are adamant that they are on the right track. Signing Alonso was a way of showing that they are serious about their goals.
When Vettel announced he would retire at the end of the campaign, people were expecting someone young and talented to join the team. However, it was the legendary 2-time Champion Alonso who was revealed as his replacement.
Alonso himself is not in F1 just for the sake of it. He is still in the sport at the age of 42, because he wants to see himself in another Title battle in the years to come.
Whether Vettel’s long term rival fulfils Aston Martin’s goals in the coming years or not is yet to be seen.