Lewis Hamilton Helped Expose Sebastian Vettel’s Greatest Character Flaw: “He Got Away With That”

The younger generation may favor Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry with Max Verstappen, but Formula 1 fans who have been following the sport for a while may pick what Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton produced. The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel is still arguably one of the most talked-about showdowns in Formula 1. However, the two of them have come close over the last few years. During his prime, the German may have demonstrated insane reflexes and ruthlessness, but a former Williams and Ferrari manager explained an incident that showed a vulnerable Vettel.

Following four world championships and 53 career wins, Sebastian Vettel said goodbye to Formula 1 after the last race in Abu Dhabi. Even if the German driver came in third among the “best drivers,” Peter Windsor, the former manager, argues that Vettel is just a regular driver and cannot be compared to the seven-time champion.

However, Citing the infamous Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, Windsor questioned Vettel’s approach, where the German positioned his Ferrari next to the Mercedes in an effort to side-swipe him in a rage. Despite the fact that they were traveling at a slower speed under the safety car, Vettel felt enraged at Hamilton, which showed the vulnerability of the Ferrari driver.

Peter Windsor spoke on his Twitch account, “The only thing you only can add is that he’s also the guy, behind the Safety Car, who drove into Lewis Hamilton at Baku [in 2017] because he was annoyed with Lewis for driving slowly. He got away with that. He got away with that.”

“I never would have put him in the same class as Lewis. Maybe, if he’s got a really good back end on the car, I’d put him up there with Fernando [Alonso]  but if he’s got a wayward back end and not a lot of grip [he’s in trouble].”

READ MORE: WATCH: When Sebastian Vettel & Lewis Hamilton Picked Each Other as Answer to Intense F1 Question

The two world champions’ friendship has only gotten better. So it is no secret who Vettel identified as the GOAT of his generation.

Sebastian Vettel names Lewis Hamilton as the best of his generation

Vettel and Hamilton have both acted as role models for fans all over the world. In addition, both athletes amused the crowd while competing against one another in an effort to win the championship. And when Hamilton triumphed in the Turkish GP in 2020 where he tied Michael Schumacher‘s record, it happened to be Vettel’s surprising return to the podium. However, Vettel became the first one to congratulate the 7x champ on reaching a historic milestone.

As per the Race, Vettel said, “I think he is the greatest of our era for sure.”

He further asserted that Hamilton should not be undervalued when compared to the best from all of F1’s periods. He said, it is “always difficult” to judge drivers across generations because “how can you possibly compare [Juan Manuel] Fangio, Stirling Moss to ours? You can’t. But it doesn’t matter, I think every era has its driver or its drivers and Lewis is certainly the greatest of our era.

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The bond between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, which has existed since the two first met on the racetrack, is undoubtedly one of the most like in the F1 community. But as things stand, Hamilton now will be facing a formidable opponent, Max Verstappen. But which of these two rivalries is your favorite?