Vettel responds to Hamilton's support on social media
Tuesday 4 December 2018 16:30, UK
Sebastian Vettel says he and Lewis Hamilton share a "mutual respect" after the Mercedes driver defended his Ferrari rival on social media.
Hamilton wrote on Instagram after the Japanese GP that "the media need to show a little more respect for Sebastian" following criticism of the Ferrari driver's performances in recent races amid his crumbling title challenge.
It came six months after Vettel defended Hamilton in a press conference in Bahrain over questions from the media.
And despite their ongoing on-track rivalry, Vettel said: "The respect between us has always been there, despite the fact that we're maybe very different.
"We appreciate the job that the other guy is doing and it's a mutual respect that we have for each other."
Asked by Sky Sports News to define their battle this year, Vettel said it had been "very respectful" and drew a distinction between the media's perception and the perception of those on the inside in F1.
"There are two different championships," he said. "Apart from drivers' and constructors', I think one is between the people who work here and then the second one is for people who also work here but more [on the] outside.
"So there is the drivers' landscape and the media's landscape and they are not always a match. Sometimes for a reason and sometimes maybe not."
Hamilton explains Vettel defence
Speaking in the earlier press conference at the US GP, Hamilton had elaborated on why he had felt compelled to issue a post in support of Vettel.
"I think if I was in the same position they would do the same thing," said Hamilton. "As drivers, we are all members of the GPDA and I think we all need to stick together and I think the respect that we have for one other is the best than it has been for many years, at least in the years that I've been in Formula 1.
"Ultimately as a four-time world champion, it is the most intense year that we've had. Every hiccup is magnified, as it is with any sport at the top, but there have been several times where I've been in the firing range and Seb has always been really respectful in supporting me so I thought it was only just to do the same."
Vettel reflects on turning title tide
While this year's championship is not yet at 'check mate', Hamilton certainly has Vettel in 'check' heading into this weekend's US GP with the Briton able to wrap up his fifth title by outscoring the Ferrari driver by eight points on Sunday.
"It's pretty clear: we need to be quick enough to win the races but then it depends on what the other side is doing. We're focused on that," said Vettel.
"The last couple of weeks we didn't have the speed, but we have some ideas floating around to get it back."
The Mercedes-Ferrari championship battle had been neck-and-neck for most of the season before Hamilton sprinted away with four wins in succession.
While mistakes from driver and team have been highlighted regularly, Ferrari also appear to have been out-developed by Mercedes in recent races. Asked if he accepted that Mercedes had simply performed better, Vettel replied: "So far yes, it's pretty obvious - you just have to look at the points.
"There have been a lot of races so far. Some that clearly I should have done better - if you want to name one then Hockenheim. Some that maybe we should have done better.
"But overall we just didn't have enough races where we had the speed to dominate the weekend, put the car on pole and finish first. Unfortunately it didn't happen often enough."
Vettel added: "Some of the races didn't go our way at all and they were able to benefit from that but they were very strong in benefiting from that. It's not that they stepped aside and we were there, they had to do their job and they did it to get the points. Obviously it hurt us, but well played to them.
"We will still try to do everything we can and then we will see what happens."
