31/10/2018
NEWS STORY
Ever since joining Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel has made no secret of the fact he wanted to emulate his great hero, Michael Schumacher, by bringing world championship success to the Italian team.
However, like many before him, not least world champions like Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso, driving for the ever-political Italian outfit often means the on-track battles are the very least you have to worry about.
Though often linked with the Maranello outfit, Lewis Hamilton sympathises with his title rival, admitting that driving for the Scuderia means added pressure.
Asked to compare Vettel to some of his other title rivals over the years, the Briton replied: "If you try to do compare, then naturally that becomes headlines and it can be taken negatively.
"He is a deserving four-time world champion," he continued, "and this year, the pressure he would be under at Ferrari, who've not won a championship for many, many years... it's a lot to ride on one's shoulders.
"I think this year, even though he's had some difficult times, he's still bounced back and that's the true showing of a champion," admitted the Briton. "I've been very fortunate to race against a lot of drivers and it's all small percentages that separate us all. And that's the great thing about this sport."
In the aftermath of Sunday's race, many were impressed with the way in which Vettel broke off from the official trackside interviews - during which interviewer David Coulthard went borderline Ron Burgundy - to congratulate the champion.
"He came over, and the one thing he said was, 'just don't let off... I need you fighting with me next year,' which I respect, naturally.
"I said, 'thank you so much for being such a strong competitor this year', but it happened so fast that I don't remember everything we said, but ultimately it was a true showing of great sportsmanship and respect between us, and I think that has been there all year long. I think it's great to have in multiple world champions, two competitors who've gone head-to-head.
"It's been a hard year. He's fought so well this year and I know he drove fantastically well in Mexico and I know he's going to go from strength to strength so I I've got to stay on my toes and make sure I keep trying to come back stronger in the future."