Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton shared a long-standing rivalry during the former’s peak F1 days, but there was never a lack of respect between the two. The German driver always held Hamilton in high regard and felt that he was the greatest of all time, as witnessed in an interview.
Vettel was asked to describe F1 drivers using one word. And the first name he got was Hamilton’s. Without much hesitation, the ex-Aston Martin driver said ‘GOAT’.
He reserved this for Hamilton, ahead of his childhood idol Michael Schumacher, whom he labeled as a ‘hero’ in the interview.
Sebastian Vettel reacts to Lewis Hamilton’s British Grand Prix win
— Formula God (@formula1god) July 7, 2024
Vettel first battled with Hamilton when Red Bull’s first era of dominance kicked off in 2010. There wasn’t much Hamilton — who was a part of McLaren back then — could do to dethrone Vettel, who won four championships in a row.
But from 2014 onwards, it was Vettel who took a back seat. He left Red Bull for Ferrari the next year, and watched as Hamilton won six championships with his new team — Mercedes. Meanwhile, Vettel struggled at Ferrari with his championship challenges diminishing in the latter stages of the season.
Their on-track rivalry came to an end when Vettel left Ferrari for Aston Martin in 2021. But, it highlighted the fact that even though they were competitors on the track, they had developed a strong friendship too.
Vettel and Hamilton’s common ground for friendship
Vettel and Hamilton, toward the later years of their time together in F1, would use their platform to talk about things outside the track. They highlighted important issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, racial discrimination, and climate change — which they felt needed the attention of the world.
Despite receiving backlash from many and sometimes even the organizers, Vettel and Hamilton were undeterred. When Hamilton came out in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement in 2020, Vettel was one of the few to openly show support.
At the end of the 2022 season, Vettel retired from F1. But Hamilton insisted that he would be back someday, leaving the door open for them to renew their respectful rivalry one last time.
