Lewis Hamilton vs Sebastian Vettel: Rivalry, accomplishments and future goals

In recent motor racing history, Hamilton and Vettel’s rivalry is one of the most famous. They are both well renowned Formula1 drivers with colourful resumes. The competition between the two is exciting as both drivers’ careers kicked off in the same season, with Hamilton always having the edge over Vettel.  Despite being competitors, both drivers have high praises for each other and agree that their vie is their favourite though it has lessened over the years. Here’s a take on Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s rivalry, accomplishments and future goals.

Rivalry

Anywhere you go around the globe, ask any fan, a matter of fact, ask any layperson about Formula 1 racing, and the first names that spring out are Hamilton and Vettel.  Anyone would place Formulas 1 bets on their names only because of their unique history in racing as competitors.

Though Hamilton and Vettel’s Formula 1 racing careers kicked off in 2007, their duel dates two years back to 2005 during their Formula 3 racing days.  Vettel was still in his first season of F3 and Hamilton in his second.  Both drivers shared the podium five times, with Hamilton doing the winning still, while Vettel brought stiff competition and finished as runner up.

After F3 racing in 2007, their F1 rivalry began.  Despite Vettel having fewer wins in racing competitions than Hamilton, he still held the record of world titles till 2018. The peak of the two racers’ contention was seen when Vettel moved to Ferrari and Hamilton to Mercedes. In the 2017/2018 seasons, the duo exchanged wins and fought tooth and nail to determine who will take the crown of Formula 1 racing. At the end of the 2018 season, Hamilton overtook Vettel and won his fifth world title leaving Vettel with four world titles in their succession of victories.

Accomplishments

Lewis Hamilton is with no doubt the best Formula 1 driver of his day and age. His greatest racing achievement that can never be broken is being the first black Formula 1 driver with McLaren. He shares the record of 7 World Drivers’ Championship titles with the great Michael Schumacher. In addition to his greatness, he holds the record of the most wins of 98, pole position of 100, podium finishes of 169, and in 2007 he became the then, youngest Formula 1 World Champion in history.  In his first season, Hamilton had the fastest lap time twice; the guy is just a record-setting machine.  When you start thinking he may be old now, he went on to finish first in the Spanish GP on Sunday 5 May 2021.

Sebastian Vettel is a stupendous achiever. In the early years of his Formula 1 career, he won four World Drivers’ Championship titles consecutively from 2010 to 2013. He snatched the record of the sport’s youngest World Champion from Hamilton. Vettel has the third most victories in racing, podium finishes of 121, is number four on the most pole positions of 57. He not only holds records, but has been given awards that include being named Rookie of the year in 2008, awarded the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in 2009, and garnered the DHL Fastest Lap Award in the years 2009, 2012 and 2013.

Future Goals

As far as Hamilton’s future in racing is concerned, in an interview, he states that he feels he is in a good place with his career. He sees himself doing more in the field and feels as if he hasn’t reached his peak in Formula Racing.  This only goes to say he has more groundbreaking records to set.

After leaving Ferrari in the 2020 season, it has been unclear as to where Vettel will end up.  The driver still feels he can impact F1 racing as he is still young and can win another Championship with his future team.

Featured Photo by Carl Jorgensen on Unsplash