Waylaid as I was by cruelly deposed Formula One Bernie Ecclestone after he had viewed his first grand prix in exile, I was fretful my bold BR prediction last week on the inevitable season showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel may have dumped him in disagreement.
No way! And my own resultant grin — even if I was picking up the lunch tab — would have dimmed any bright dawn as, with a rare smile, he insisted: “You were right on the ball. The season, which will be a cracker, looks like an intriguing one-two tussle.
“Hamilton and Vettel, so gifted, are multi-multi champions who could each surpass Michael Schumacher’s title tally of seven championships. Formula One fans all over the world are in for a treat this season.”
The Australian opener in Melbourne may have finally fallen into Vettel’s grasp owing as much to a Hamilton Mercedes’ team blunder to pit him as to the dash and daring of the revived and revitalised Ferrari at the hands of the gifted and reawakened German.
But, wow, the promise of fiercer, closer battles among the new look, bigger, brasher and bolder cars and their extra-muscular drivers, is a trailer to savour and I would not risk a penny on the eventual outcome before the Abu Dhabi showdown in November.
It is an opinion shared behind the scenes with Mercedes mastermind Toto Wolff and his Ferrari hot rivals principal Sergio Marchinonne who has triggered the passion backstage at the Maranello HQ after accusing the legends of under-delivering last season when champion Nico Rosberg and Hamilton dominated.
Added excitingly to all of the buzz backstage is the fighting talk emanating between F1 foes — but not real enemies off-track — Hamilton and Vettel and the sizzle of so much action-packed promise to come.
Their commitment to the arduous job in hand has accelerated to the point where neither man could wait to get packed to speed it back home and get down to the task of learning as much about the cars and themselves as they could at team headquarters ... with even more gym effort to help strengthen their fight against the demands of faster cars much tougher to handle and control than they have ever encountered before.
Hamilton, underplaying his position as pre-season favourite — and fooling nobody — reckons Ferrari were bluffing in pre — season tests and that, even after their victory Down Under, there is much, much more to come from the Prancing Horse set-up and four times crown holder Vettel.
But the 32-year-old Great Briton did add on his return, after a brief stopover in Abu Dhabi, “My determination and desire to be the champion for a fourth time is on a real big high. I want it more than ever before.
“I expect Seb will be a massive problem — but, believe me, this is going to be the best against the best. Drivers and cars. Formula One fans the world over are in for real and long running treat.”
“He is right, spot on,” agreed Ecclestone,” and I think this one will go down to the wire.”
So, it appears, we are all in agreement: this championship chase will be no one-horse race. It will be a classic.
