Lewis Hamilton has defended error-plagued Sebastian Vettel, believing the German’s champion pedigree will revive his faltering title ambitions.
Vettel spun his Ferrari while battling for second place with Hamilton at Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix - his fourth similar malfunction in the last 10 races.
He has also had to play second fiddle to Charles Leclerc, his 21-year-old team-mate who would have won the race but for an engine problem.
Hamilton, who capitalised on Leclerc’s misfortune to claim victory, said: ‘Sebastian is a true world champion, a great athlete, and he will recover.
“Just because you are a multiple world champion, it doesn’t mean you are not going to have off-weekends. It happens to all of us.,” said Hamilton. “If you look at his career, he has had stunning performances that far outweigh his weaker races. When he has spun, they are miniscule black marks on the status he has accumulated in the sport.”
Hamilton’s former team-mate Nico Rosberg, who beat the Briton to the title in 2016, was less circumspect, saying: “Vettel is continuing to do what he did last year, messing up again, and spinning around in a battle. It’s unbelievable that it keeps happening to him.”
Four-time world champion Vettel is struggling to live up to his status as Ferrari’s de facto No 1, but he said of his spin: “It had nothing to do with pressure. I was fighting with Lewis and the target was to stay ahead. It was a difficult race so there is plenty of homework for me to do. I am not happy and won’t be for a few days.”
However, Ferrari were the fastest team in Bahrain and head into the next race in Shanghai on April 14 with optimism. Hamilton, who lies second in the standings after two races behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas, said: “We are happy to have won. But we were outperformed by Ferrari this weekend. We have plenty of work to do.”
