Hamilton chooses Vettel Rivalry as F1 career favorite

Hamilton and Vettel have together won 10 of the last 11 F1 drivers’ championships and took the title in 2017 and 2018 when they drove for Mercedes and Ferrari, respectively.

Hamilton managed to beat Vettel in both years, but the duo had a series of close fights and tense moments during the title bouts.

When asked what his favorite rivalry in F1 history was, Hamilton selected “mine and Seb’s battles” and named them “my favorites so far”.

Hamilton expanded his response by stating that he fully respected and appreciated all the work he and Vettel had done fighting each other, and was full of praise for today’s Aston Martin driver.

“I knew how hard it was to be where we are today and I knew I was up against an incredible driver, and not only that, but a great man in Seb,” said Hamilton.

“He’s a four-time world champion. If you compete against another team at the same time, Ferrari, which was very strong at the time, it took us both a lot of time to stay focused during that time.” Weekend in, weekend out to deliver.

“I think while it was a difficult time for us it probably brought us closer too because the respect we have between us is huge in my opinion.”

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Hamilton’s expected fight against Max Verstappen for this year’s world championship is already being described as a possible major F1 rivalry.

Hamilton said he “couldn’t assume” what will happen this early in the season but spoke about how he was enjoying tight title fights.

“For me, I think fighting with Seb, fighting with Valtteri [Bottas], you only want to fight with the best drivers and [it be] as close as possible, “said Hamilton.

“Then hopefully you can try to get a little more out of your competitors to get the results.”

Hamilton said the fight against Verstappen would have a different dynamic than his fights against Vettel as the Red Bull driver is less experienced.

“It’s different now, of course,” said Hamilton. “When I ride with Max he doesn’t have the background Seb has, but he obviously has a chance to become a future champion.

“Whether that is now or later ultimately depends on the work that the team and I do.”