“Don’t Have the Best Relationship”: Sebastian Vettel Picks Lewis Hamilton “Chemistry” Over Former F1 Championship Rival

Sebastian Vettel, over the course of his F1 career, went from being one of the most hated drivers to being the most loved one. In his initial years in F1 and Red Bull, Vettel proved his mettle as he won four consecutive championships. With contention for the championship came the intense rivalry against Fernando Alonso, which Vettel believes makes him “admire him as a competitor.” But the rivalry is also one of the reasons for his “difficult” relationship with the Spaniard.

On the Beyond the Grid podcast, talking about his relationship with Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, said, “As a person though, I don’t really know him. I wouldn’t say we don’t get along, I think we respect each other, but I don’t think we’ve ever really known each other, spent time together or talked outside of racing.” [Translated using Google]

“But as a person, we probably don’t have the best relationship because we just don’t know each other that well.”

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This is surprising for everyone, given how good a relationship Seb appears to have with everyone on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso’s relationship with Lewis Hamilton

The three drivers, Vettel, Alonso, and Hamilton, are among the greatest of their generation. In 2022, the three drivers combined held a whopping 13 World Drivers’ Championships between them. 

Being from the same generation meant that they were all rivals at different stages of their careers. This resulted in different dynamics among the three, where the healthy dynamics between Vettel and Lewis are no secret.

On the same podcast, the German, comparing his relationships with Hamilton and Alonso, said, “As much as I get along with Lewis and we have things to talk about and share some points of view, I could have them with Fernando too, but we never had chemistry to really get into this.”

On the other hand, Alonso and Hamilton’s relationship was more tainted. And as their careers progressed, things kept heating up, culminating in a recent Twitter and radio spat between the two.

Alonso confessed to having a good relationship with the Briton early on. But as quoted by the Express over their current standing, Alonso said, “Now we have this respectful relationship, but maybe it is colder than it used to be. We have different opinions on different things. Lewis has a different lifestyle to many of us and that separates us.”

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It will be interesting to see if Vettel’s relationship with the other two drivers further develops now that he is retired. However, we can be sure that there will be action and drama between Alonso and Hamilton in 2023.