German F1 star Sebastian Vettel showed his class today, as he immediately went to congratulate Lewis Hamilton as the Brit secured his seventh F1 championship, putting him level with the great Michael Schumacher in the process.Vettel, 33, managed to get his first podium place of the season in today’s Turkish Grand Prix as he achieved a third-place finish.Hamilton, 35, put in a scintillating performance too which carried him to a first-place finish and an emphatic seventh championship.As soon as the race was over, Vettel got out of his car and went over to Hamilton to go and congratulate him on his championship triumph.Throughout the years, Vettel and Hamilton have been fierce rivals, but this moment oozed class from the German, who openly admits Schumacher is his idol, so seeing his record get equalled may have been tough for him.Watch the warm moment between the two below.
Hamilton won his first F1 Championship in 2008, prior to Vettel’s emergence on the F1 scene.
Vettel would make his F1 debut the following year in 2009, and would go onto win four out of the next five championships.
Hamilton ended Vettel’s dominance when he won his second and third championships in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
The German star finished fourth in 2014 and third in 2015 after he moved to Ferrari from Red Bull that year.
Nico Rosberg’s retirement in 2016 established Vettel as Hamilton’s biggest rival for the 2017 F1 championship.
The British superstar would go onto win both 2017 and 2018 championships, both seasons saw Hamilton overturn a mid-season points deficit in two intense battles for the title.
Hamilton’s championship win today means that he has now equalled Vettel’s four consecutive championship winning streak.
Vettel vs Hamilton has been one of the great rivalries in modern times, which makes Vettel’s display of respect all the more impactful.