Hamilton expects Vettel to come out 'guns blazing' in 2018

Lewis Hamilton has claimed that Sebastian Vettel will come out all 'guns blazing' for the 2018 season as the Ferrari driver aims to recover from a relatively disappointing 2017 and learn from his mistakes to sustain a championship bid up against Hamilton and Mercedes.

Vettel started this past campaign well and led the championship rankings for 12 straight races, but some poor performances over the Asian leg of the tour, as well as deliberately colliding with Hamilton during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ultimately derailed the title challenge, allowing Hamilton to swoop in and claim his fourth championship.

Hamilton thinks that Vettel will have learned his lessons from 2017, and expects a big battle from the German driver.

"I'm not going to tell you what I've learned but you can see it and I think you guys have learned about him," Hamilton said.

"He shouldn't shy away from that. He will learn from the experiences, as we all do. I have had years like that. He has had years of complete solidity like [mine] this year as well.

"I imagine next year he's going to be coming back guns blazing, but I don't feel there's anything I can't achieve if I put the work in."

Hamilton went on to reveal that he believes it is important for feuding competitors to recognise and take advantage of any weaknesses in the performances of an opponent, and mentioned Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as sportsmen who do this to great effect.

"Pressure points, weak points - you just keep your foot down, keep the pressure on and when the other shows no sign of weakness that's definitely difficult," Hamilton continued.

"Look at [tennis stars Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal, at some point in the game one will see a slight weakness in the other - even if just half a percent.

"That's what they try to capitalise on and which makes the difference, and that's really how it has been this year."