Vettel and Hamilton were locked in a tight battle for the championship for the first half of the season.
The championship lead continued to change nearly every other race weekend, but then it all changed after the summer break.
Hamilton stepped it up another level, winning six out of seven races, while Vettel faltered.
It has been a frustrating few months for the German, watching on as his championship rival stood atop the podium week in and week out.
And the 2018 championship came to an end at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Vettel managed to finish ahead of Hamilton, but the latter did enough by finishing fourth to clinch his fifth world title.
While all the cars had parked up, Hamilton was still celebrating with a few doughnuts to entertain the crowd.
And his excitement continued when he exited the car to run towards the audience, hearing his name chanted by the Mexican crowd.
This was all happening while Max Verstappen and Vettel were getting interviewed for their post-race duties.
But when Vettel spotted Hamilton in close proximity, he stopped short his interview to embrace the 33-year-old.
A touching moment between two great Formula One drivers who now hold nine world championships between them.
It wasn’t clear what was said, but the two drivers were speaking with smiles on their face.