Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are the rivals who have given Sebastian Vettel the most problems over time. The four-time Grand Circus World Champion Aston Martin driver will retire from professional sports at the end of the season.

Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, the trio that put on a real show in Formula 1

Since joining the Formula 1 circuit in the middle of the 2007 season, Vettel has fought hard for the championship with Hamilton and Alonso, all three of whom have been among the most important drivers in the history of the sport.

The four-time world champion, now an Aston Martin driver, told in an interview who he had the biggest rivalry with in Formula 1.

“Lewis Hamilton was always there, especially during my time at Ferrari. He had Fernando Alonso before him when he was at Ferrari,” says Vettel about his great rivals in the Grand Prix.

Compared to the results he was used to in previous years, Vettel has spent the last 2 years in a less competitive single-seater, and earlier this year he spoke about what was rumored to be his retirement.

In 2021, he reached the podium in Azerbaijan and took 2nd place in Hungary, but was immediately disqualified due to fuel problems. Since then, they have been struggling in the middle of the rankings.

His team insisted that he continue, aiming to set an example of professionalism for those who would come after him. Although he has faded from the limelight in terms of F1 performances, Vettel said he has no regrets and appreciates all the efforts behind the wheel of the Aston Martin team.

“No, not at all. I don’t think these two years were wasted, even if the results and points scored did not live up to expectations. I enjoyed working with the team and meeting new people.

These two years were very difficult for me because I was not used to running at the bottom of the standings. It was a new experience for me, sometimes difficult, but I learned a lot,” he said Vettel.

“Just look at what is happening around you. If you’re leading, you only see what’s leading. If you stay behind, you only notice what is happening there. However, you always turn your attention to what’s ahead because that’s where you want to go.

When you’re the first, you don’t look back because it doesn’t affect you and you don’t appreciate how much work people put in. The fact that you don’t have very good results does not mean that you are not working hard,” the German also said.