Formula 1 is a competitive sphere. Even more so when you’ve dedicated your entire life to getting there and it’s so easy to lose it all. Having been on opposite sides of the F1 championship battles over the years, Lewis Hamilton has admitted that an unlikely friendship did develop with Sebastian Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel announced earlier that he will retire from the sport at the end of 2022. As you’d imagine, it will be a sad day for the sport when on November 20th, he will race his last laps in F1. Safe to say, Hamilton will join us all in lamenting what could’ve been for the 4x Champion.

Hamilton said, “It is going to be sad to see him leave.” The 7x Champion then explained what set the German apart for him. “It has been an unexpected relationship and friendship… Out of all the drivers that I’ve raced with, Seb was the first one to stand by me and take the knee with me. He is the first one to go out of his way to fight for things he cares about.”

“I really see him as an ally.”

Read More: “I’d Be in Detention…”: 7X World Champion Lewis Hamilton Opens Up On His Treacherous Journey to the Pinnacle of F1

Vettel finally bit the bullet in 2022 after two relatively unsuccessful years with Aston Martin. That being said, as it turns out, way back in 2019, the German was also entertaining thoughts about hanging up his racing helmet.

Sebastian Vettel on competing with Charles Leclerc

From 2010 to 2013, Vettel was the undisputed king of Formula 1. Then, Hamilton came into comparable machinery. They fought tooth and nail, but Vettel knew he was up against an equally seasoned man. But when the young pretender came in and took his place in the team and his nemesis, it broke Vettel.

Vettel said, “[Leclerc was] unburdened by disappointments. Leclerc took the wheel and stepped on the gas. He was lugging less weight around. He drove the way I saw myself in my first Formula 1 years.”

“The fact that I’m not currently in a race car with which I can show what I’m actually capable of has, however, also contributed to my retirement.”

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Audi is entering F1 in 2026 as a works team. Will this tempt Sebastian Vettel to make a dream comeback to the sport?