Lewis Hamilton has hailed the opening races of the season for producing "real racing" after he was able to push for the entire grand prix to win ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, as the pair now tie on points in the lead of the championship after two races.
Although the Mercedes driver controlled the race from start to finish to claim his first win of the season, he believes the result would have been much closer between him and Vettel had the Safety Car not come out.
"It was incredible," Hamilton said after the race. "Today was very, very tough for us all, difficult [conditions].
"Great job by Sebastian and this young dude here [Verstappen].
"This racing is so real, it’s so exciting for me personally. I don’t know how it is for everyone else but I hope they’re enjoying it.
"We were matching times [at the front] so if there wasn’t safety cars and stuff it would have been a lot closer."
Hamilton is therefore predicting one of the closest championship battles he's been involved in.
"It’s going to be one of the closest ones [championships], if not the closest I’ve personally ever experienced. Looking forward to this fight, not only with Sebastian but the other guys."
The three-time champion hailed the new generation of cars and tyres which now allow drivers to push flat-out for the entire race at much higher speeds than before.
"Ferrari has done a fantastic job, it’s great that we’re both pushing those last 20 laps, really exchanging times. I kept having to be fed what times he was doing so I could try and match it, he was closing the gap a little bit but I managed to stay ahead.
"It’s that close a battle, the cars look better and they’re nicer to drive, they’re fantasic, not the easiest to drive, but this guy [Verstappen] seems to find it possible, particularly when it’s wet, so we have to watch the video and see what he’s doing."
