Vettel thankful for 'pen pal' Hamilton after Ferrari-debacle: "He cheered me up"

Of all Formula 1 drivers, 2020 was a difficult year because of the pandemic, but for Sebastian Vettel it was downright disastrous. Things went badly on the track, but the misery all started in the spring, when he was sacked by Ferrari.

It came as quite a surprise that before the start of the season Ferrari said goodbye to the driver on whom they had done everything they could in the previous five years. Also for Vettel himself the phone call came as a surprise and he made no secret of being very disappointed.

The German Blick asked after the last race in Abu Dhabi if there was a driver in that period who tried to cheer him up a bit. "Yes, Lewis called me just after the bad news in the spring. We had a few more conversations or wrote to each other. He always cheered me up and motivated me to go on."

That contact continued for the rest of the season. "I had several reasons to congratulate him on his great performance and Lewis would often have a reason to feel sorry for me [laughs]. Because of Corona we couldn't have conversations in the paddock this season."