Hamilton trying to empathise with struggling Vettel

Lewis Hamilton has confessed all he can do is try to empathise with Sebastian Vettel as the German endures a torrid final season with Ferrari.

In 2018, Hamilton and Vettel went toe to toe in the championship dubbed 'The Fight for Five' and for the first half of the season, the battle was closely fought.

Just two years later and six races into the 2020 season, Hamilton tops the standings on 132 points while Vettel languishes in 11th on just 16.

"In terms of what is happening with Seb, I don’t really have a lot more to say," said Hamilton.

“I saw the difficult race he had previously and all I can try to do is empathise with the position he is in and try to be understanding, because it can never be a great feeling to have been told that you are not wanted, to continue within the team and, especially when you join a team and you get into a team, you give your all."

Since Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019, Vettel has lost his number one driver status within the team. Ferrari say both drivers will be offered an equal opportunity to succeed in 2020, but it is clear the SF1000 has been designed more to suit the strengths of Leclerc than Vettel.

Despite this, Vettel remains professional when facing the media and is loath to criticise his team.

Hamilton added: “I think this is a great – the way he is pushing, the way he is continuing to try and help the team just shows the great character he has and the great commitment to racing and I hope that something really positive comes up for him moving forwards.”

Vettel remains heavily linked with a driver at Aston Martin [currently Racing Point] in 2021 with Sergio Perez the driver likely to make way.

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