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Niki Lauda says he is enjoying the current championship battle Formula 1 is experiencing, as Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are going head to head for the 2017 title.
Last time out in Spain, the two came as close as one would dare on track. As Vettel was exiting the pits, Hamilton was flying down the start finish straight. The two banged wheels at turn 1 and Vettel held the lead until Hamilton got past the Ferrari driver a few laps later.
"It was racing at the highest level," said Lauda. "It does not get any better. Pure fascination. A four-time world champion and a three-time world champion fighting for Ferrari and Mercedes in the two best cars in the world. There is no better advertising for the sport," he told the Swiss newspaper, Blick.
Lauda believes that the championship fight is between those two, while Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas will play supportive roles, assisting not only their teammate but also the team itself.
"Raikkonen and Bottas will probably play a decisive role for Ferrari or Mercedes winning the constructors' world championship," said Lauda. "I would say Bottas is now as good as Rosberg was. And maybe a bit better than Raikkonen," he added.
He hopes it is the drivers rather than the cars that determine who is crowned champion in the end: "Reliability is important in every world championship. The turbo problem Bottas had in Barcelona hurts us. Now our well-known English-German quality control will have to improve. We do not want a world championship of technical failures," he added.
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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