Sebastian Vettel says he has his ‘fingers crossed’ for Lewis Hamilton to be crowned the Formula 1 World Champion in 2025 with Ferrari.
The British driver ended his stay with Mercedes after 12 seasons to join the Scuderia this year, to fulfill a lifelong dream of racing in red.
However, the start to the season has been mixed after a 10th place finish on his debut in Australia in tricky wet-weather conditions.
That was followed by victory in the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix before he was later disqualified from the Grand Prix due to excessive skid-block wear after finishing in sixth place on track.
Vettel, who retired after the 2022 campaign, developed a close bond with the seven-time World Champion after the pair clashed for the title in 2017 and 2018.
Similar to Hamilton, the German racing driver also left a multi-championship winning team to join the Prancing Horse.
But he was unable to clinch Ferrari’s first Drivers’ Championship since 2007, despite winning 14 races for the Italian squad.
With Hamilton searching for a record-breaking eighth title, Vettel revealed his support for the Ferrari racing driver.
“My fingers are crossed,” Vettel told BBC Sportsworld.
“Obviously, I’ve raced him a long time – we get along really well and he’s by far the most outspoken driver on the grid at the minute.
“His on-track skills don’t need to be repeated; I think the numbers and statistics speak for themselves.
“But it’s great to see that he’s still on the grid, and he still has that influence and uses it in a positive manner.
“So naturally, my fingers are crossed for him to win the championship.”
Vettel ‘not ruling anybody out’ in F1 2025 title fight
Winning his first championship in 2010, Vettel went on to win four consecutive titles with Red Bull before leaving the team at the end of the 2014 season.
After the opening two rounds in Australia and China, Lando Norris leads the way in the standings at the moment.
However, the 37-year-old believes it is too soon to predict who will be crowned champion in 2025, with multiple drivers in the fight for glory this year.
“Charles [Leclerc] is there [at Ferrari] – I raced with him, it’s a strong lineup,” added Vettel.
“In the end, it takes a lot of things to come together, to be there in the last couple of races and fight for the championship.
“So we will see – it will be close, but I’m definitely not ruling anybody out.”
Max Verstappen, who is without victory so far in 2025, is eight points behind the McLaren racing driver in the standings.
Norris’ team-mate, Oscar Piastri, resides in fourth after Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
The papaya duo are the favourites to clinch the F1 title this season, with both drivers on the board already with race victories.
The Australian racing driver led his first victory from pole position to the chequered flag in China, as he laid down a response to Norris after Melbourne.
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