Lewis Hamilton expressed his love for Sebastian Vettel in a passionate post after the German announced his retirement from the sport.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have shared the F1 grid for 15 straight years. The duo share 156 wins, over 7000 points and 11 World Championship titles between them.
Lewis debuted in 2007 with McLaren and was fighting at the front of the grid for wins. While Sebastian would replace Robert Kubica in BMW ahead of the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
In 2008, Hamilton claimed his first championship title with McLaren. He became the youngest World Champion at the age of 24. While Vettel claimed his first race win in Monza with Toro Rosso in damp conditions.
Vettel would win 4 consecutive championships from 2010 to 2013. He would be crowned the youngest World champion in 2010 beating Hamilton’s record.
📲 Lewis Hamilton on Sebastian Vettel’s retirement:
“it’s been an honour to call you a competitor and an even greater honour to call you my friend.. I have no doubt that whatever comes next for you will be exciting, meaningful, and rewarding. Love you, man.” pic.twitter.com/qyC7MjN2bh
— Sir Lewis Hamilton Updates (@SirLewisUpdates) July 28, 2022
After the German’s domination in the sport, Hamilton would claim 6 more titles. Vettel would share a fierce rivalry with him after his move to Ferrari.
The duo have been very good friends on and off the track. And with Seb announcing his retirement at the end of the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton shared a heartfelt note of thanks for his colleague.
He wrote, “It’s been an honour to call you a competitor and an even greater honour to call you my friend. I have no doubt that whatever comes next for you will be exciting, meaningful, and rewarding. Love you, man.”
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Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry with Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have shared a fierce yet friendly rivalry in F1. In their prime, the duo were contending for Championships and not just race wins.
Lewis and Mercedes dominated the sport from 2014 onwards. The Turbo-Hybrid era saw none of the teams coming close to Mercedes.
While Vettel after dominating the sport with Red Bull made a dream move to Ferrari in 2015. From 2017 to 2019, Ferrari was fast enough to compete for race wins and this pitted the two against each other.
lewis hamilton and sebastian vettel have stood on the podium together 56 times – more than any other pairing in formula one history ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/jUpgZGHqcx
— sam (@rbrseb) July 28, 2022
Seb challenged Lewis for the title in 2017 and 2018. In 2017 Vettel managed to take an early lead in the championship but lost the title due to making too many mistakes during the season.
The two shared many heated moments like in 2017 Azerbaijan when Vettel rammed the side of Hamilton and accused him of brake checking. But the two always had mutual respect for one another.
Vettel has been an outspoken critic of racism and supported Hamilton by taking the knee. He regards Hamilton as one of the best and has always appreciated his feat in F1.
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