In his 15-year-long F1 career, Lewis Hamilton has always stayed at the top. Surely, he has been challenged by some of the top drivers to oust him from the top.
But the Briton overcame his adversary and won seven titles and 103 Grand Prix races. Making him statistically the most successful F1 driver in history.
From the start of his career, he was pitted against two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, then Jenson Button, followed by Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and finally, Max Verstappen.
Hamilton can easily claim to have the upper hand against all of them at least once. But personally, he rarely had good relations with them except with one driver on the grid.
Also read: Kimi Raikkonen once gifted Sebastian Vettel an ice sculpture of himself for birthday
Lewis Hamilton reveals his favourite driver
In one of the press conferences, Hamilton was asked which rival among the long list of his contemporaries was his favourite nemesis. The Brit was quick to name Vettel as his favourite rival.
The duo’s rivalry was piqued when Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015 and went on to live till 2018. However, Hamilton had the upper hand against the four-time champion all these years.
But on a personal level, the two only grew fond of each other. Vettel in 2018 even visited Mercedes garage to congratulate his rivals on the championship win. The competition between the two did have moments of tension, but there was always mutual respect.
Mercedes star emotional on Vettel’s exit
In 2022, Vettel announced he would retire at the season’s end. This announcement was massively overwhelming for the entire F1 community, and in the end, even several drivers were affected by it.
During the Abu Dhabi press conference, Hamilton said that he couldn’t believe Vettel’s time in F1 had ended. He added that he believes Vettel would be returning to F1 like Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, and Alonso did in the past.
From Rookies to Legends !#SebastianVettel #F1 #lewishamilton pic.twitter.com/qW1k9G8PT7
— Aashutosh Gaurav #DankeSeb (@AashutoshGaura1) December 21, 2022
Though, it’s unlikely for Vettel to return to a driver’s role. Nevertheless, Hamilton tried to make his rival’s last F1 weekend special as he organized a special dinner for him, attended by all the 20 drivers on the grid.
Also read: Sebastian Vettel hats off to Max Verstappen for his incredible racing skills
