Why Vettel rivalry is the favourite of Hamilton’s F1 career - so far

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has picked his fight against Sebastian Vettel as his favourite rivalry from Formula 1 history.

Hamilton went head-to-head against the then Ferrari driver Vettel for the 2017 and 2018 world championships and came out on top despite arguably having the slower car on both occasions to take his fourth and fifth crowns.

The 36-year-old Briton pipped Felipe Massa to his maiden world title in 2008 and prevailed in two of the three championship battles he had against Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg during a fierce rivalry between 2014-2016.

Hamilton was largely unchallenged en route to his sixth and seventh world championships in 2019 and 2020 but appears to have a real fight on his hands against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen this year as he bids to clinch a record-breaking eighth world title.

Asked what his favourite rivalry in F1 history was, Hamilton replied: “I’ve got a really bad memory, but I’m going to say mine and Seb’s battles were my favourite up to now. 

“I was so young watching the [Ayrton] Senna era, so I didn’t get to remember too much of it. Of course, I saw the battles between him and [Alain] Prost in videos.

“But I think it’s just knowing how hard it is to be where we are today, knowing that I was racing against an incredible driver, but not only that but also a great man in Seb.

“He’s a four-time world champion, and we were racing against another team at the time. He was at Ferrari, which were very strong at the time, it took a lot out of both of us in that time to remain focused and to deliver weekend-in, weekend-out.

“And while it was a difficult period for us, it probably brought us closer as well because the respect that we have between us is huge.”

Hamilton also noted the different dynamic between his previous battle with Vettel and his current fight against Verstappen.

“I’m excited for the fans and I hope it is all that it’s cracked up to be, particularly at a time when we need the best entertainment possible for the fans,” he explained.

“For me, fighting with Seb, fighting with Valtteri, I just want to be fighting with best drivers and as close as possible. Then you can hopefully try to eke out a little bit more from your competitors to get the best results.

“It’s different now, of course,” Hamilton added. “If I’m racing with Max, he doesn’t have the background that Seb has, but he has obviously got the chance of being a future champion.

“Whether that’s now or later, depends, ultimately, on the job that the team and I do."