Hamilton: Respect for Vettel higher since Baku 2017 clash 

Lewis Hamilton says his respect for Formula 1 rival Sebastian Vettel has grown considerably since their collision during last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

The pair return to Baku and the scene of their controversial clash behind the Safety Car for the fourth round of the 2018 F1 season this weekend. 

Following initial contact while running under Safety Car conditions, Vettel drew alongside Hamilton and appeared to turn into the Mercedes driver in a moment of fury, having accused Hamilton of deliberately slowing down in a bid to unsettle him. 

Vettel was handed an in-race time penalty and was later summoned to a meeting with FIA president Jean Todd in which he accepted full responsibility for the incident, though no further action was deemed necessary. 

Hamilton initially labelled the German a “disgrace” and went on to beat his rival to the 2017 world championship, drawing him level with Vettel on four drivers’ titles.

When asked what the 2017 clash had told him about Vettel, Hamilton replied:"Not much really; it's good to see fire within the people that you're competing with, it's also good to see that they're not perfect because I guess nobody's perfect.

“We all make mistakes but it's more so how people handle it and how they progress [that] is what you can really learn from,” he added. “He’s continued to progress as the champion that he is. 

“How he presents himself, how he speaks, he continues to grow and the words that he uses today. The respect has grown, actually, a considerable amount since then. I'm sure it will continue.”

Vettel recently leapt to Hamilton’s defence at the Bahrain Grand Prix when the Briton came under fire from a journalist in a post-race press conference for calling Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a “dickhead” after the duo made contact in the race.