Lewis Hamilton: Sebastian Vettel is still a “formidable competitor”

The 2017 and 2018 Grand Prix seasons saw Hamilton and Vettel go wheel to wheel with each other for the championship before the Brit came out on top and mistakes the past year have left people wondering whether the German has lost his touch.
 
But Hamilton still believes that Vettel is as tough as he was on track, recounting that he is still a four-time World Champion.
 
He said (quoted by InsideRacing): "I don’t think anything has happened to him.
 
"He and the team have struggled and had some difficult races and he obviously has a new youngster next to him who is doing well so it doesn’t appear to be the easiest of time but he is still a four-time world champion so people can be quite forgetful.

"I remember that he is a four-time world champion and a formidable competitor so we have to keep the respect there and expect him to come back strong."

While the Brit still is wary of Vettel the threat of the next generation of drivers is certainly around with Verstappen and Leclerc proving they can fight.

"Absolutely, we’ve seen a big step from Red Bull, they’ve taken a leap forward with their power unit this year which is great to see and I think they are only going to go from strength to strength with that," he added.

"Max is not really a youngster in the sport anymore, he is young but he has been here for a few years, while Charles is young and is only in his second season so he has a lot of growing that he will experience and I can only see him getting stronger.

"We are already seeing some great experiences from him already so that one I am particularly eager to look out for. Whether Ferrari are going to pick up their pace I don’t know as they are up and down at the moment."