Vettel battle ‘how racing should be’ – Hamilton

2017 Spanish Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton has described his hard battle with Sebastian Vettel for victory at the Spanish Grand Prix as “how racing should be”.

The two championship leaders were locked into a race long duel that ebbed and flowed between the Mercedes and Ferrari over the course of the 66 lap race.

After being passed by Vettel at the start, Hamilton pitted at the end of the Virtual Safety Car and placed Vettel under intense pressure for multiple laps, eventually sweeping past for the lead and the win on Lap 44.

“That’s how racing should be,” says Hamilton of the scrap. “That’s as close as it could be. Sebastian was incredibly close and incredibly fast, but the team did an incredible job with the strategy.

“At the start, I don’t really exactly know what’s gone wrong. I’ll need to speak with my guys. I thought I did everything I was supposed to do, but I got a bit of wheelspin.”

The pair almost collided in Turn One after Vettel rejoined the circuit following his second and final stop. Hamilton tried to pass around the outside but Vettel rebuffed the effort and the Mercedes took to the kerb to avoid a collision.

“I think in the heat of the moment, it’s difficult to know from the outside view what it’s like, but I felt like I ran out of road on the outside,” Hamilton explains.

“It was definitely close, but as I said, that’s how racing should be and I loved it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

2017 Spanish Grand Prix

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    Will Wood
    Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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    18 comments on “Vettel battle ‘how racing should be’ – Hamilton”

    1. Im glad he enjoys it and i hope it stays this way.

    2. the bit as vettel came out of the pits was epic. just a shame the eventual pass was anti-climactic thanks to DRS making the ‘pass’ quite boringly easy.

      1. At least it was possible to pass and easier than on the past years when it was virtually impossible.

      2. Vettel’s pass on Bwoah-tas wasn’t pretty epic too IMO.

        1. Fukobayashi (@)
          15th May 2017, 11:37

          “Bwoah-tas” LOL

    3. This sort of racing definitely saves a lot of time, all the time I spend not giving a damn about it and turning off the race.

      1. Good..But you cared enough to comment. Lol.

      2. so, uh, what EXACTELY are you looking for???

      3. Fukobayashi (@)
        15th May 2017, 11:38

        And yet here you are, in the comments, on an F1 site. You really put that time to great use!

    4. It was very entertaining to watch a close battle for the lead!

    5. The first part of the battle as Vettel & Lewis were side by side into turn 1 when Vettel came out of the pits was fun & the back & forth scrap over the next few laps was also fun. However the eventual pass happening so soon & been so relatively easy thanks in large part to DRS kinda took the wind out of things & made things from then on rather ‘Meh’.

      Would have been a lot more exciting IMO if the battle had carried on longer & any eventual overtake had been more down to the skill & bravery of the drivers rather than something that was so dull & unmemorable that it will be quickly forgotten.

      1. Oh come on, cheer up..

        1. The tyre differential was more than enough at that stage of the race for Hamilton to pass, VSC created the spectacle and DRS took it away

      2. oh, I dunno…I could see a race played out without a pass at all. No DRS and Vettel is blocking every move. Hamilton runs out of tires on his clearly faster car and is relegated to 2nd due to aero blocking. If Vettel is truly faster, DRS would have let him back by the same way Lewis got by. Every car has the same rules and tools. the best drivers and the best teams should be able to make that happen. If not, 2nd place is the best that day.

    6. Would have been complaining like in the radio messages, if he hadn’t won.

    7. flabbio brioche
      15th May 2017, 9:51

      smell me ass cheex

    8. So Hamilton thinks Bottas playing the team game and slowing Vettel down until Hamilton closes the gap is “how racing should be”?. NO you should not have to rely on your team mate to win!. Vettel would have won if he hadn’t lost time behind Bottas. I’m losing respect for Bottas this season. And a message to Hamilton “stop crying when drivers do to you, what you do to them (Vettel first corner when Hamilton cried he was forced off track)!

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