Sebastian Vettel vs Lewis Hamilton F1 Championships, Race Wins, Podiums, and Pole Positions: A Look at One of the Most Legendary Rivalries in Sporting History

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are two of the most legendary names in Formula 1. They both made their debut in the same year and have been competitors for over a decade. Let’s take a look at their rivalry and their statistics.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel made their debuts in 2007. Little did we know that they would go on to become two of Formula 1’s greatest drivers in history. Both drivers have had their chance at dominating the sport with their respective teams. 

Growing up, Sebastian Vettel was a huge fan of Michael Schumacher. This was not surprising as Schumacher was a national treasure for Germany when Vettel started racing. Lewis Hamilton idolized another iconic driver while growing up. He was always a fan of Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian driver who passed away during a fatal accident in Imola in 1994. 

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton went on to become fierce rivals and then close friends in the end. Let’s take a look at their rivalry now.

The stepping stones in Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton made his debut with the McLaren team who were already Championship contenders in the past years. They were fighting for Championships with Michael Schumacher and even Fernando Alonso through the early 2000s. He was partnered with Fernando Alonso who had also just joined the team. So the fans and the team did not expect Lewis to be competitive right away. However, Lewis Hamilton had another idea. 

In his rookie year, the young British driver made sure that he was not to be messed with. He achieved his first race win during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. In his first season in Formula 1, he won a total of 4 Grand Prix, which is equal amount to the ones Fernando had won during the same year. He and Fernando were also equal in points but at the end of the season, they were just one point away from the Championship winner, Kimi Raikkonen.

Sebastian Vettel on the other hand made his Formula 1 debut in BMW Sauber. He was a test driver for the team. But after Robert Kubica suffered injuries from an accident during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel was asked to drive in the next race in the United States.

He finished 8th place in his debut and was the youngest driver ever to score points in a race. He did not drive in a race for BMW Sauber after this. But the entire paddock knew that he was going to be a successful driver. 

A few weeks later, Sebastian Vettel became a driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 team. The Italian Team was not a Championship contender and was a midfield team at the time. He drove for a total of 7 races for Toro Rosso during the 2007 season. During which he gave the team a 4th place finish during the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix. The next year, he remained with the team and scored his and the team’s first Grand Prix victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. It was the team’s home race. 

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s first Championships

After the 2007 season, Fernando Alonso got upset with McLaren over an incident before the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix and decided to leave the team. For his replacement, Heikki Kovaleinen was teamed up with Hamilton. Kovaleinen’s pace was nowhere near Hamilton’s. So the Briton was clearly the better driver in the team.

However, he faced some challenges from McLaren’s long-standing rivals, Ferrari. It was clear from the beginning that Lewis Hamilton or one of the Ferrari drivers was going to win the Championship. After the first half of the season, Felipe Massa came out as the better driver at Ferrari. During the last lap of the last race, Lewis Hamilton made a Championship-winning overtake that would earn him his first championship. 

Since Sebastian Vettel joined a midfield team, it would be a while since he won a Championship. After a positive 2008 season, the German driver was promoted to the Red Bull Racing team for the 2009 season. During the season, Vettel gave Red Bull their first race win during the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix. He would also go on to finish 2nd in the WDC and WCC with Red Bull.

They were not able to win the Championship that year as Brawn GP had found a loophole in the regulations for that season. The team came up with a unique concept called the double diffuser which gave the car a considerable advantage when compared to the rest of the grid.

In 2010, Brawn GP was taken over by Mercedes but was well behind the Championship leaders at the time. This allowed Sebastian Vettel to fight for the Championship with Fernando Alonso who had just accepted a contract with Ferrari. The two battled for the Championship until the last race where Sebastian Vettel took the title by 4 points.

Sebastian Vettel’s era of domination

After Sebastian Vettel won his first Championship, Red Bull continued to design competitive cars with the help of Adrian Newey. In the 2011 Formula 1 season, Sebastian Vettel won 11 out of the 19 races that were held. Lewis Hamilton had won only 2 races that season while his teammate had won 3. Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber finished the season with just 1 victory but finished 3rd in the WDC. Vettel won the Championship by 122 points.

In 2012, Sebastian Vettel faced some competition for the Championship from Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari. Their battle went on till the last race which ended in a dramatic fashion. After Vettel suffered an accident, he was forced to pit and had to fight back from last place. He was able to do so by the skin of his teeth. He finished in 6th place while Fernando finished in 2nd. Sebastian Vettel won his 3rd Championship in 2010 by just 3 points. 

The 2012 Formula 1 season was once completely dominated by the German Champion and Red Bull. Vettel would go on to break records during this season. He had won a total of 13 races in the 2013 season. The German also won the last 9 races of the season. He is the only driver so far to have won 9 consecutive races in Formula 1. 

Lewis Hamilton’s era of domination

After the 2012 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton decided to switch teams to Mercedes after completing 6 seasons with McLaren. He replaced Michael Schumacher who had come out of retirement to drive for the team in 2010. 

In his first season with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was able to win the Hungarian Grand Prix, while his teammate, Nico Rosberg won 2 including the 2013 British Grand Prix. The car was nowhere near the pace of Red Bull’s RB9. However, the 2014 season had a new regulation change in the power unit of the car. From the 2014 Formula 1 season, the sport headed into a new era of Turbo-Hybrid. 

This era was completely dominated by the Mercedes team. The team would go on to win 17 out of the 19 races which were held during the 2014 season. Lewis Hamilton won 11 of them while Sebastian Vettel won none. 

The next year, Sebastian Vettel would seek success in Ferrari. He hoped to do what his idol did with the team. However, Mercedes would go on to dominate the 2015 and 2016 seasons as well. Lewis Hamilton won the 2015 season but would lose the 2016 Championship to his teammate after an intense battle throughout the season. Nico Rosberg retired from the sport after winning the Championship in 2016.

Sebastian Vettel vs. Lewis Hamilton 

After Rosberg retired, Sebastian Vettel was the only driver who had the best chance to deny Lewis Hamilton of the Championship. Unfortunately, The combo of the Mercedes car with Lewis Hamilton will once again prove to be too strong for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel. However, Vettel was able to win 5 races that helped him place 2nd in the WDC while Lewis Hamilton won the Championship. 

The 2018 season was perhaps the closest Sebastian Vettel got to winning a Championship with Mercedes. Ferrari built the strongest power unit in the 2018 season, even stronger than Mercedes. Vettel had picked up 4 victories before the halfway mark of the season. Lewis Hamiton had only picked up 3.

Going into the 2018 German Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel was leading the Championship by 8 points. He had qualified in the pole for the race while Lewis Hamilton had started in 14th after failing to put a time on the board in Q2. As the rain was approaching, the German Grand Prix began, and Sebastian Vettel was comfortably leading an incident-filled Grand Prix.

The rain came into play after lap 40/63. At the time, all the drivers had already pitted for their final stops. So this meant that they would all have to pit again if they wanted to switch to intermediate tires. On lap 51, Sebastian Vettel locked up his tires and hit the wall. This put him out of the race. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand was able to fight his way from P14 to P1 by the end of the race. However, he was able to receive some help from his teammate who was ordered not to overtake him. 

Lewis would go on to win the Championship by 88 points. After the German Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton won 7 out of the 10 remaining races while Vettel just won 1. It is speculated that Vettel could have won more if he had not crashed in Germany. That incident affected his confidence level. 

Lewis Hamilton would go on to win the 2019 and 2020 Championships while Ferrari was struggling with performance. in 2021, Vettel left Ferrari to join Aston Martin. He was not able to compete with the pace of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes with the Aston Martin. After just 2 years with the team, Vettel decided to call it a career. 

Hamilton continues to race in Formula 1, still aiming for more Championships. 

The statistics of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel

Over their careers, Lewis Hamilton has won a total of 7 Championships so far while Sebastian Vettel has won 4. However, the German driver holds the record for being the youngest driver ever to win a Championship. 

Lewis Hamilton has won the most number of races in Formula 1 with 103, while Sebastian Vettel has the 3rd most with 53. This is mainly because Lewis Hamilton’s domination lasted for longer than Vettel’s. Until the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton had won at least 1 race in every season. The same cannot be said for Sebastian Vettel. 

The 7-time Champions has racked up a total of 195 podiums until the 2023 British Grand Prix. It is completely possible that he will add to this number. He has achieved the most podiums in Formula 1, while Sebastian Vettel has achieved the 3rd most with 122. 

Sebastian Vettel has 57 pole positions which is the 4th most of any driver in Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton has 104 pole positions which is again a record that can be increased in the coming weeks. 

Statistically, it is clear that Lewis Hamilton is the better driver. However, we have never seen both drivers in their prime in equal machinery. It is unlikely that we will witness that, but it would be an interesting battle.