Vettel 'old enough' not to resort to Hamilton jibes

Sebastian Vettel has played down the verbal sparring which he and Lewis Hamilton were involved in over the weekend of the opening Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne, suggesting that the duo are "old enough" not to resort to serious jibes against each other.

After acquiring pole position following qualifying, Hamilton said that he couldn't wait to "wipe the smile" off Vettel's face - a statement which he has since claimed was a joke.

Vettel responded in kind by saying “what goes around comes around” to his rival, and backed up the words by going on to win the Australia Grand Prix at the expense of Hamilton, who finished in second.

When probed to send another message to Hamilton after his victory, the German refused, insisting that the pair are "old enough" to not be serious in their comments to one another.

“Lewis said he was joking and I believe him," Vettel said of Hamilton's initial comment.

“We are old enough and we don’t need to go on that sort of level. It’s fine as long as we joke with each other.

Last year, the rivalry between Vettel and Hamilton reached boiling point when the Ferrari driver clipped the Mercedes vehicle of Hamilton during a period of the race when the safety car was on the track.

Vettel claims that this is the only point during his relationship with Hamilton when things got out of hand, and that the pair usually get on well.

“I think we share – all of us – a common passion and that makes us quite equal again. Apart from one point last year, we have not had a problem with each other," Vettel continued.

“Even if we are very different people, we share a common passion and that makes us equal again.

“We love racing and we try to do our best, and in that regard, I do not see why we shouldn’t get on with each other.”