Sebastian Vettel says Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry has been a 'clean fight' so far

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is just six points ahe of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and with six races to go, things will get heated from now on. Ahe of main race at United States Grand Prix which is scheduled for October 24, Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel says he hopes that Verstappen will have a better car to contest for Formula 1 driver championship with Hamilton.

Speaking prior to F1 US Grand Prix four-time champion told Formula1.com: "I hope that Max has a better car at end, or better position to be in at very end because fights that I was (in) with Lewis, unfortunately, we were not as competitive to really give him a hard time in end. So I think it was quite clear and fairly easy for him to win championship in end."

When asked about crashes that Hamilton and Verstappen have h so far, Sebastian Vettel responded by saying that rivalries are good for any sport. He also ded that he enjoys rivalry and that Max - Lewis rivalry has been a 'clean fight' so far.

"I think rivalry is good for any sport,” said German. “But I'm a huge fan of rivalry with respect. And I think we're seeing a very clean fight so far."

Max vs Lewis in 2021 - Verstappen takes le

In Russia, we saw Lando Norris lose out on winning spot after heavy rain and his refusal to change tyres led to his car slipping and Hamilton ended up finishing first. However, also remarkable was Verstappen at Sochi as he started race at end of grid in P20 but he finished 2nd which helped him close gap on Hamilton.

At  Turkish F1 Grand Prix, we saw Mercedes' Hamilton handed a grid penalty for a change in engine which meant he started at P11, entire grid started on Intermediates because of a wet track. Lewis Hamilton argued with his team to not pit for a tyre change but he ended up going in late on and finished fifth while title rival Verstappen finished second and managed to jump ahe on driver standings and le by six points ahe of US Grand Prix.

(Image: AP/@AstonMartinF1/Twitter)