Lewis Hamilton expects tough fight in 2017

If only one Grand Prix has been completed, Lewis Hamilton thinks he sees in the result of the Australian event the start of a trend for the coming season.

The three-time world champion could not prevent Sebastian Vettel and Team Ferrari of find the path to victory in Melbourne, after a race where his premature pit stop largely helped the German driver take first place.

2017 could therefore constitute a direct clash between the two drivers, after three seasons where Scuderia Ferrari struggled against the Mercedes. “It's been a privilege to race in an era with him and now to be in a period where we can actually compete against each other, underlined Hamilton in a press conference after the finish.

I wish we could be closer than we were in the race but I still think that the fact that we have quite similar paces is going to take a lot of work this season.

It's going to be physically and mentally demanding, but like Sebastian said, racing at the highest level is what racing is all about. F1 and ultimately makes you work a lot harder, raise your level and I'm looking forward to that. »

Vettel on the same wavelength

During his golden period with Red Bull Racing, Sebastian Vettel never actually faced Lewis Hamilton for the world title, notably fighting against Fernando Alonso (then at Ferrari), where his teammate Mark Webber. The German also hopes to be able to fight against the Mercedes driver this year.

“He has proven to be one of the fastest drivers on the grid and for sure I would like to have a close battle. Obviously, right now it seems like we have equal machines. I hope it stays that way and we'll see what happens next, but obviously it's a lot of fun to race for wins and have a lot of fun competing against the best. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2107 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version, and on newsstands.