Vettel: 'Verstappen was faster, but Hamilton drove smarter in Bahrain'

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton sat down together for the press conference, and following the rivalry that seems to be brewing between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the two looked back on historic rivalries and their own duel between 2017 and 2018.

Throughout the years, there are always rivalries in Formula 1. Battles for the world title are of course the most beautiful, but scarce. You need two teams who can fight for the world title and two good drivers who are close to each other. Sebastian Vettel for example grew up with the duel between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.

Rivalry in Formula 1

''I grew up as a fan of Michael and the years with Mika were very intense. I was too young for the duel between Senna and Prost. That was of course unique and I have seen the footage. However, over the years we have matured as people and you don't see such intense fights next to the track anymore,'' Vettel said at the press conference.

''I saw the highlights after the race, and it was clear that Max was faster and also had the better tyres. Lewis, however, drove smarter and did what he had to do. He had nothing to lose and came out victorious, while Max should have won but didn't,'' said the German.

Hamilton and Vettel fought a fine duel in 2017 and 2018, which was won twice by Lewis Hamilton though. When the Briton is asked about the best duel between two drivers, he also mentions that duel. Remarkable, because the duel would never last until the end of the season, but would be decided in favour by the driver of Mercedes before.

Duel with Verstappen is different

''I was driving against a great driver and a great person. Seb was already a four-time world champion and we were fighting against a great team like Ferrari. That asked a lot from both of us to stay focused every weekend. That was a difficult period, but it has brought us closer together and increased our respect for each other,'' says Hamilton.

The duel with Verstappen is very different as a result, according to Hamilton, because Verstappen does not have all those titles under his belt. ''It's different now with Max because he doesn't have that background like Seb had. He obviously has a chance to be world champion in the future, but whether that is now or later will depend on how well my team and I do our job'', concludes the seven-time world champion.