Hamilton respects Vettel more after Baku clash

Lewis Hamilton says he has gained more respect for Sebastian Vettel since their tempestuous clash at last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Vettel deliberately drove into Hamilton in Baku last year, but heads to the same circuit this weekend having enjoyed a superior 2018 to the reigning champion so far.

The race for title number five between Vettel and Hamilton has gone the way of the Ferrari man so far, with two wins from three races helping him lead the standings by nine points from Hamilton.

Conversely, the Silver Arrows have not won a race yet in 2018, with chances slipping through their fingers in each grand prix.

Hamilton said Vettel was a "disgrace" for banging wheels with him in Baku last year after the Ferrair thought he had been brake-tested under the Safety Car, but relations have evidently eased, with Vettel defending Hamilton after he called Max Verstappen a "dickhead" in Bahrain.

Feels good to be back in Baku ???? #F1 ???? by @latimages @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/lmykvTYnpU — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) April 26, 2018

"It's good to see fire within the people that you're competing with, it's also good to see that they're not perfect because I guess nobody's perfect," Hamilton told reporters of last year's incident.

"We all make mistakes but it's more how people handle it and how they progress [that] is what you can really learn from. He's continued to progress as the champion that he is.

"How he presents himself, how he speaks, he continues to grow and the words that he uses today.

"The respect has grown, actually, a considerable amount since then. I'm sure it will continue."

Although Mercedes are in the midst of their worst win drought in the hybrid era, Hamilton is not yet panicking.

"They're short-term things. I'm hoping that we have rectified them," he said.

"We've sat and understood where we've gone wrong, but still there can be five or 10 different solutions to that one particular problem, so now I'm just hoping that we've implemented the right equations to get the right answer."