THROWBACK: Lewis Hamilton Bursts Out Laughing as Sebastian Vettel Takes Cheeky Dig at Pirelli

Sebastian Vettel has a reputation of being quirky and funny during press conferences. One such opportunity that he capitalized on was during the post-qualifying media session of the 2019 F1 Canadian Grand Prix.

A representative from F1 website ‘graining.es’ introduced himself before proceeding to ask the question. Vettel then suddenly interrupted him to ask if it was ‘raining or graining.’

The journalist humbly reiterated that he worked for a website with the name ‘graining.’ But what happened next is something that no one in the press conference room expected!

Sebastian Vettel asked the journalist if Pirelli sponsored their website!

The Ferrari superstar then jokingly asked, “Are you sponsored by Pirelli?” Hamilton, who was sitting right beside him, lost his formal touch and burst out laughing.

Vettel then continued and told the Mercedes driver, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold it back. Was it a good one at least?” All in all, it was one of those moments of fun and games from F1 drivers during what are usually straightforward press conferences.

The German driver had that season shown some serious pace for the first time that season. With Mercedes having dominated all the races until that point in time, Vettel stood out brightly with a superb timed lap effort.

Surging forward with his Ferrari, Vettel recorded a best timing of 1:10.240. The lap saw him go 0.206 seconds clear of Hamilton, and comfortably notch pole position ahead of the race.

Vettel finished second in that race after receiving a five-second penalty

As cheerful as Vettel was in the post-qualifying conference, the eventual result in Montreal did not work out particularly well for him. Having dominated the majority of the race, he was well on track for his first win with Scuderia Ferrari in 2019.

But having suffered a minor lockup, with Hamilton right behind him, the FIA awarded the German a five-second penalty for making a dangerous entry back onto the track. Naturally, Vettel displayed frustration at the harsh outcome and felt he had a race win taken away from him.

Regardless, back to the present, and Vettel will now drive for Aston Martin in the 2021 F1 season. Who knows with some better results, maybe we might see more of the cheeky Sebastian Vettel once again in the press conferences this campaign?

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