THE GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA
Hamilton v Vettel promises to be a fight to the finish.. and the Brit’s just loving it
TWO races down. One win apiece. Battle lines drawn in a title showdown.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel both know the sweet taste of world championship glory, but already this season it is clear that neither has had his thirst quenched.
Hamilton, still smarting from playing second fiddle last year to former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, led from pole to flag as he won in Shanghai for the fifth time and moved into a tie with Alain Prost for second most podium finishes of all time.
A staggering 106 times in the top three still leaves him 49 short of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record, but it is the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Ferrari’s golden boy that fires up the Brit.
After finishing the race where he started it – a place ahead of his German rival, who won the opener in Australia – Hamilton said: “I love this fight we are having.
“Sitting there with Sebastian I was like, ‘This is going to go right down to the end of the season’ and I hope for both of us there is nothing mechanical that will come in between our sheer battle through ability.
“I really hope it is an out-and-out fight through stubbornness, through mental stability, through fitness, composure and through just out-driving the person on track.”
Hamilton has been crowned champion three times in the last nine seasons, but he is still short of Vettel, who won four in a row in that period.
They are the two great drivers of their time, both with the ruthless streak that separates champions from the field.
And just when the greats of any sport come together in competition, it is clear Hamilton is relishing what lies ahead.
He added: “It is going to be one of the closest championships, if not the closest I’ve personally ever experienced.
“The scenario I am in right now, I am fighting against a four-time world champion, who is at his best and is phenomenally quick and a Ferrari team which is the best they have been in a decade. I feel like I am at my best too.
“The ultimate fighter always wants the best battle you can have because when you come out on top it is so much more satisfying.
“I’m so happy with my first win of the year and I can’t believe it.
“What I said to Sebastian as I left the last race, I said I’m coming back in the next one. When I got on the podium it was like, ‘I told you’.”
Vettel was frustrated by two early safety cars that saw him drop to sixth before working his way back through the field, but accepted he was second best on a damp day in China.
“Lewis did the best job,” said Vettel. “We were unfortunate with the safety car. We finished second and I’m happy with that.”
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen produced another virtuoso display to complete the podium after he rose 13 places from 16th on the grid to cement his status as the rising star of F1.