Lewis Hamilton suggested Sebastian Vettel may one day return to Formula 1 as the two old rivals had a light-hearted back-and-forth in Thursday's press conference.
They spoke to journalists ahead of this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is set to be the final outing of Vettel's F1 career. Naturally, it was one of the hot topics to be discussed as the drivers settled into media day at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Clearly in a mischievous mood, Hamilton's reaction to being asked for his thoughts on his past tussles with Vettel was to look across to his rival suspiciously. "What do I think of Seb? He was a bit of a nuisance back then," said the Brit, sparking a ripple of laughter among the drivers and gathered journalists.
That was the moment Vettel chose to jump in. Picking up his microphone, he replied: "Sorry, it's your answer, but Baku [their collision in the 2017 race] for me wasn't a great moment, because what I did wasn't right, but actually I think from that moment onwards our friendship got better. So I don't want that to not happen."
Answering the question properly, Hamilton used the example of Fernando Alonso, sat between them at the time, to suggest it may not be the last we see of Vettel in F1. He added: "I agree. We always had such great battles, honestly.
"I was just sitting here thinking, most drivers come back – [Alonso] has come back, you're gonna come back. We're seeing other drivers coming back, so I'm sitting here accepting it's his last race, but he'll be back! Formula 1 has a way of sucking you back in and we've noticed that from so many other drivers."
Vettel went on to joke further: "Maybe we can make a deal, we'll speak outside. When you want to get away maybe I'll come back." Hamilton smiled and replied: "Yeah, we can alternate."
After that fun exchange, Alonso paid tribute to a man whose F1 career he feels will always be intertwined with his own. "It's going to be strange to not have him next year, in the first race. So many things have happened over the last 15 years," said the Spaniard.
"Sometimes we fought for championships, sometimes for seventh place. We have always enjoyed every single battle and respect each other as much as we could.
"My career is going to be linked to Sebastian in a way, because we fought for many great thinks in the best seasons of our lives. Even though the outcome was always on his side, I think my name will be in Sebastian's career story, and vice versa."
