It's a quirk of the recent Formula One era that despite taking seven of the last nine championship titles between them, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have never directly contested a World Championship battle. That is, until 2017. And so far it has proved well worth the wait.
The pair have shared eight of the first eleven races of the championship, which has now reached its four week summer break, and whilst the impressive form of Valterri Bottas means it is too soon to completely declare a two horse race, it is developing into a fascinating dual that Formula One badly needed.
After three years of unrelenting Mercedes dominance that saw the unsavoury demise of a childhood friendship between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and a lack of an alternate challenger to freshen things up, Formula One needed a new hook to usher in its new era of big cars and high speeds. And what better hook than seeing two of the sports' all time greats at the top of the standings, exchanging victories, battling for motorsport's ultimate prize.
In Hungary at the weekend, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari returned to form, taking a one-two to erase any fears that their early season form wouldn't be maintained throughout 2017. In taking victory and Hamilton having to settle for fourth, Vettel extended his lead at the top of the Driver's Championship to fourteen points. But with the following two circuits expecting to favour Mercedes, you would expect Hamilton to eat into that gap once more.
It therefore looks like the pattern of momentum switching between the two is set to continue towards the business end of the season. Neither driver has taken back to back race victories so far, a smooth race one weekend seems to be followed by a troubled one the next. It has led to a proper battle between two great drivers of their era. These are the circumstances that lead to the most memorable of seasons, true titans going head to head. Michael Schumacher vs Mika Hakkinen, Alain Prost vs Aryton Senna, James Hunt vs Nikki Lauda. And now, at long last, Lewis Hamilton vs Sebastian Vettel.
And, for the most part, it has so far been a championship battle conducted with mutual admiration for each other's talents. A far cry from the hostility and tension that engulfed the Hamilton-Rosberg dominated years, both Vettel and Hamilton appear to have a genuine respect for what their opponent has achieved in the sport.
That admiration was tested in Azerbaijan a few weeks ago when Vettel saw red mid race, but any expectations of it leading to full blown warfare have so far been unfounded, although the pair haven't really battled on track in the three races since. Despite this respect, these two drivers are here to win and, as has been shown in the past, will do whatever necessary to ensure they emerge victorious. It is this that makes the second half of the season so intriguing, and you sense that with so little to choose between the pair, there will be a pivotal moment between them on track that proves decisive.
Formula One needed greater competitiveness from another manufacturer and driver to help stride into the new era and in Ferrari and Vettel we have just that. It is leading to a championship battle that could end right up there with the best.
