Lewis Hamilton has put his title rivalry with Sebastian Vettel to one side in order to defend the Ferrari driver from fierce media criticism.
Following four successive grand prix wins, Mercedes star Hamilton leads Vettel by 67 points in the Formula 1 championship and could wrap up the title at the next grand prix, in the US.
But while Hamilton roared to victories in Japan last weekend and previously in Russia, Singapore and Italy, Vettel and Ferrari’s title bid has been hit by costly mistakes by both the team and the driver.
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Ferrari’s faltering title hopes has been the subject of many headlines, and four-time champion Vettel was “subject to intense criticism” after his setback at the Japanese GP, where he finished sixth, says Sky Sports.
However, Hamilton has stood up for his big rival. In a post on Instagram, the British driver said: “I feel the media need to show a little more respect for Sebastian. You simply cannot imagine how hard it is to do what we do at our level, for any athlete at the top of their game that is.
“It is to be expected that being humans we will make mistakes but it is how we get through them that counts.”
Hamilton can seal a fifth career F1 title if he outscores Vettel by eight points in Austin on 21 October.
‘Challenge the impossible’
Sebastian Vettel admits that the mistakes have made the F1 title race “too easy” for Mercedes.
Nevertheless, Ferrari principal Maurizio Arrivabene has challenged his team to do the “impossible” and continue the fight in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
Arrivabene told F1.com: “I know that the situation looks impossible. But our job sometimes is to challenge the impossible. And this is what we’re going to do and trying to do for the future races.”
Ferrari have not won the F1 drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, nor a constructors’ championship since 2008.
With four races remaining in the 2018 season, Mercedes lead Ferrari by 78 points in the F1 constructors’ championship.
