Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shared an intense rivalry over the last decade. It looks like a distant memory, but it surely happened. And the media at that time expected the two to have that tensions off-the-track too.
But who wouldn’t expect when F1 drivers to target each other personally when things are bad on track within them? And Vettel going against Hamilton wasn’t calm at all. There were times when the two had massive friction on the track.
Vettel in Azerbaijan once heckled Hamilton’s Mercedes when the former thought his rival was brake-testing him. So, a lack of cordial relations was expected out of F1 races too, but that wasn’t the case.
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Daniel Ricciardo justified Toto Wolff’s act
During one of the British Grand Prix press conferences back in 2017, Hamilton was asked whether it was a lack of loyalty shown by Toto Wolff when he went to Vettel’s birthday party recently.
Even before Hamilton could respond, Daniel Ricciardo, who drove for Red Bull back then, jumped in for Wolff’s defense. “Free alcohol, doesn’t matter how much money you make, you don’t turn that down,” said Ricciardo.
The entire room started to laugh at the hilarious statement by the Honey Badger that actually eased the room over an awkward question. But in all honesty, Hamilton wouldn’t have minded going to Vettel’s party if he had been invited, even though they had a stiff rivalry back then.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel bonded exponentially after that year
In 2022, Vettel retired from F1, and Hamilton seemed to be the most affected driver. Probably it was hard for him to see a contemporary, with whom he had battled for so many years, going away.
So much so that the Briton claimed that Vettel would eventually make a return like Michael Schumacher in the future, though that’s a decision only Vettel can take.
However, to honour Vettel’s career, Hamilton hosted a dinner for him in Abu Dhabi, which all the 20 drivers attended. While the Azerbaijan GP 2017 seem to be the most intense moment in their rivalry, hamilton once remarked that it was back then when both actually started to bond.
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They might not be best friends, but they now share a good bond and keep each other in deep regard. They also acknowledge that they gave one of the best years to F1 fans.
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