One hand already on the 2015 Drivers' Championship, which will equal his hero Ayrton Senna's tally of three, Lewis Hamilton is already relishing the prospect of defending his crown in 2016.

However, it is not teammate Nico Rosberg that has the Briton salivating rather four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

"If I hung up my gloves and was just a fan I would want to see the two of us up against each other," he said during celebrations at Brixworth after Mercedes wrapped up its second successive constructors' title. "I am super excited to do that.

Sebastian is an original... what you see is what you get," he continued. "He is a great driver, and a good personality. He is a fun lad and I am looking forward to racing him for many more years."

He also paid tribute to teammate Nico Rosberg, whose last hopes of claiming the title disappeared on the seventh lap of Sunday's race when he suffered a throttle damper issue, his first DNF of the season.

"I've known Nico since we were thirteen years old," he said, "we've been through the ups and downs and overall he's been a great teammate. The way he's handled and behaves as a teammate has been great.

"Yesterday was a tough day for him, he's had some difficult days and I know what that's like."

Referring to tabloid claims that he sprayed Vladimir Putin with Champagne on the podium, which in turn led to internet banter regarding possible repercussions.

"I didn't actually spray him," he said, "I think it was a weird picture, but I didn't actually spray him.

"I definitely don't want anything strange happening to me," he added.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by FormerF1Fan, 16/10/2015 11:00

""duel"... a very poorly chosen journalistic expression, giving a false impression of equal weapons... Mind you, it must be sobering for Vettel to see the boot on the other foot for a change."

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2. Posted by repco lad, 14/10/2015 14:15

"Well, Ferrari will have to catch up to Mercedes in order for that to be a truly fair fight. But its telling that Lew-Diddy doesn't even consider the likes of Alonso, Bottas, Ricciardo, Button, Grosjean, Kimmy etc. to be a threat to him in 2016. "

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Hamilton relishing 2016 Vettel duel

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