WATCH: Szafnauer Praises Vettel for Beating Hamilton “Just Like the Old Days”
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 15, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in the FIA Press Conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS
Sebastian Vettel finally has reasons to smile at the moment. With a P5 finish in the Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel garnered his first points of this season, which ended a poor run of four races with 0 points.
Qualifying P8 on Saturday, the German started alongside defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who qualified in P7. However, a piece of strategic brilliance from Aston Martin put Vettel ahead of Hamilton, ultimately finishing P5.
After the race, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer shared a few words with the 4-time World Champion, including the rekindling of an old memory.
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Szafnauer brings back the Sebastian Vettel-Lewis Hamilton battle
Vettel and Hamilton started on the same row for the first time since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix. Back then, the two drivers started in the second row. This time, they started in the fourth row.
In Aston Martin’s regular YouTube montage titled “Insider”, a conversation between Vettel and Szafnauer is shown. He spoke to Vettel about the battle with Hamilton, bringing back the days when they used to battle and German got the better of the Briton.
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Szafnauer told Vettel, “I had a feeling. When you started next to Lewis, you beat him, like the old days.”
While it was refreshing to see a Vettel-Hamilton battle this season, it seems unlikely to happen again in the races that remain.
Why Sebastian Vettel Insists on Labelling his Ferrari F1 Stint a ‘Failure’
What’s next for Vettel and Hamilton?
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A torrid 2020 season for Vettel ended the intensity of the Hamilton-Vettel rivalry. With 11 world titles between them, the two drivers had one of the most competitive rivalries in recent F1 history.
via Getty
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – JUNE 08: Pole position qualifier Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari and second place qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP talk in parc ferme during qualifying for the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
With Baku inching closer, Vettel will look to build on his 10 points from Monaco. With fans voting him for the “Driver of the Day” in Monaco, the German enjoyed the new updates to the car ahead of Sunday.
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He now looks like a more confident driver when compared to the first race of 2021 in Bahrain. As for Hamilton, he will look to bounce back in the title fight in Baku.
With 4 points between him and Max Verstappen, the Briton needs a good result to stay within touching distance of the Dutchman. And given Mercedes‘ issues on street circuits, Hamilton has a mammoth task on his hands.
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