Source: Mercedes-Benz Archive

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Beating Vettel needed special moments - Hamilton

"Beating Vettel needed special moments" - Hamilton

29-10-2018 10:13
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Bobby Vincent

Lewis Hamilton is now a five-time world champion and the Brit has revealed that it took some "special moments" to see off the challenge from Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel this season.

Hamilton was crowned as world champion for consecutive seasons following Sunday's race in Mexico - drawing level with Juan Manuel Fangio on five championships.

The first half of the season saw a really intense battle between Hamilton and Vettel; but Lewis eventually pulled away from his fierce rival.

"Through the year, there were a lot of testing times for us," Hamilton said when asked by Motorsport about beating Vettel and Ferrari. "Even on the weekends where we didn't have the package and we were on the back foot, we'd come away with wins even though we weren't the quickest.

"It took some special laps, it took some special moments in the car and I honestly could just re-live those moments all the time. Some of those experiences I had in the car were really magical."

Hamilton has had to grind out some incredible performances this season - Silverstone: being spun round by Kimi Raikkonen but managed second, won from 14th in Germany and won on two of Mercedes' weakest tracks in Hungary and Singapore.

Lewis said his "flawless" team deserve the credit for making those sort of performances possible for him.

"I feel like I can drive anything and I feel I can take the car to places than nobody else can," Hamilton continued. "But to do that, you have to get the car in the right place and so that means ultimately you've got to work with the team, to help unleash what's great within them so that you can unleash the greatness in yourself."