Sebastian Vettel has revealed he may have formed a legendary partnership with fellow multiple-world champion Lewis Hamilton. The pair have been rivals on the track for the last 15 years and have a combined 11 world championships and 156 wins. They are both responsible for raising the bar in the sport and have used their platforms to speak out on societal issues.
Ahead of Vettel’s final F1 race on Sunday, he revealed the truth behind the reports from several years ago that tipped the German to leave Ferrari and join Mercedes. While it was discussed, there was never anything concrete and the German went on to explain what took place. “I don’t know, maybe there was,” he told F1's Beyond the Grid podcast.
“I spoke with Niki [Lauda, then Mercedes non-executive chairman] but to be honest I was half way through the Ferrari period and joining would have been a big deal because Lewis was sort of their No.1 and I’m not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team. But I also didn’t have great interest in that time because I was so committed to Ferrari and that was my dream to make that thing work so you talk to each other but it wasn’t really serious.
“At that time, my focus was to win with Ferrari and that was my target. I didn’t want to change teams and win with Mercedes. Other than just winning that I really love, it was winning with Ferrari that was the great goal.” While Vettel drove for Ferrari, the pair battled for the world title in 2017 and 2018, with Hamilton prevailing on both occasions.
An incident occurred between the two at the Azerbaijan GP five years ago, when Vettel collided with the back of Hamilton’s car, claiming the Brit break-tested him. This prompted the furious driver to drive up alongside Hamilton and intentionally hit his Mercedes car. Vettel commented on the heated moment and claimed it actually developed their friendship.
“I think it would have been a great challenge [driving alongside Hamilton] and I think I would have enjoyed that. But it just wasn’t meant to be,” he added. “We get along really well. We had maybe a misunderstanding in Baku. I was very upset.
"It was one of these moments where things didn’t go my way and I was upset and maybe the emotional side did take too much over. But I think that moment was a key moment because it could have made us step away from each other more or bring us together and it brought us together.
"It wasn’t sportsmanlike and not fair, which I admitted afterwards and we talked to each other. I think after that moment we got closer to each other."
Hamilton, on the other hand, shared some kind words about his friend ahead of his F1 farewell. "He stood by me. We had many duels and great conversations, but this stands out. Actions count more than words,” he said. “I am proud of Seb and the way he stands up for things. I think we will remain friends after his career is over.”
