Lewis Hamilton has described his hard battle with Sebastian Vettel for victory at the Spanish Grand Prix as “how racing should be”.

The two championship leaders were locked into a race long duel that ebbed and flowed between the Mercedes and Ferrari over the course of the 66 lap race.

After being passed by Vettel at the start, Hamilton pitted at the end of the Virtual Safety Car and placed Vettel under intense pressure for multiple laps, eventually sweeping past for the lead and the win on Lap 44.

“That’s how racing should be,” says Hamilton of the scrap. “That’s as close as it could be. Sebastian was incredibly close and incredibly fast, but the team did an incredible job with the strategy.

“At the start, I don’t really exactly know what’s gone wrong. I’ll need to speak with my guys. I thought I did everything I was supposed to do, but I got a bit of wheelspin.”

The pair almost collided in Turn One after Vettel rejoined the circuit following his second and final stop. Hamilton tried to pass around the outside but Vettel rebuffed the effort and the Mercedes took to the kerb to avoid a collision.

“I think in the heat of the moment, it’s difficult to know from the outside view what it’s like, but I felt like I ran out of road on the outside,” Hamilton explains.

“It was definitely close, but as I said, that’s how racing should be and I loved it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

2017 Spanish Grand Prix