SUMMARY
- Sebastian Vettel retired from F1 in July 2022.
- Hamilton and Vettel have had one of the best friendships on the grid.
The entire F1 community has mentioned just how much Sebastian Vettel is missed after he retires from the sport. Although the German has had a change of heart and mentioned wanting to come back and drive in F1, it seems rather bleak as of now. Nonetheless, he has left the fans with some of the best moments watched on a loop and some involve Lewis Hamilton dying of laughter.
Hamilton and Vettel have had one of the best friendships on the grid. After starting with hating each other because of a racing event, the two drivers soon formed a bond that could not be broken. The seven-time champion has also mentioned having the four-time champion support him when he was racially abused.
As time passed by, the two drivers grew closer and stuck by each other’s side when the two achieved championship victories in their prime. The Briton mentioned having the loneliness consume him while he was winning and only having Vettel to turn to in those dark times.
Sebastian Vettel leaves Lewis Hamilton gasping for air
While the two have been through some of the harshest moments in F1 and come out of it like champions, the duo have also had their share of jokes and fun moments on camera where the two could not stop laughing.
Nonetheless, it was when Vettel had moved to Ferrari and waited with Lewis Hamilton for the press conference that he came up with one of his incredible jokes. The four-time champion was being asked a question about tires, but before asking his question, the reporter mentioned he was representing the Graining.es sports news organization.
case and point https://t.co/qYqN6CxOcz pic.twitter.com/UCSrLa5VqC
— niamh! (@lesbiansebchal) December 11, 2023
However, the German could not hold back his wits and had a joke up his sleeve. As soon as he heard “graining” he asked the reporter if he was hired by Pirelli for the day. Graining is a common occurrence in F1 where the tires develop small scratches and tears as the drivers race on the tracks.
While it did not get a crack out of many, he left Hamilton gasping for air who quickly noted that he had tried to hold back his laughter. But to no one’s aid, he could not keep it in anymore, bursting out in laughter over Vettel’s incredible joke.
The time Vettel defended Lewis Hamilton against Max Verstappen
While they have grown to love each other and be good friends, the German has taken it seriously when it comes to his friendship with Hamilton. Many times, the German was seen defending the Briton at press conferences during the seven-time champion’s prime.
And just like no other day, he took the responsibility to fight a rude reporter who only wanted something out of Hamilton’s obscene radio message towards Max Verstappen. Vettel was quick to jump on the question and answered it instead saying,
“It’s not fair. I’m not sure what Lewis did, but I’m sure he did not mean it. We have all been in that situation when we are fighting and going wheel-to-wheel and there’s a lot of adrenaline going.”
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But the Germans did not just stop there and mention football players and if they had a mic attached to their jerseys while playing. Meanwhile, a calm Lewis Hamilton sat and agreed to what was said.