Between Hamilton desperately pushing his car and qualifying, and Vettel's trembling apology to his team for crashing out, these two men are putting everything they have into the championship. Having numerous contenders for the championship is exciting, but having this much passion and drama is what sport is truly about.
Honestly, it reminds me of Mika breaking down in Italy and trying to hide from the Tifosi in the bushes. It's not about pretty passing, clever pit strategy. It's not even about designing the 'perfect race car' which 'falls apart 1 foot past the finish line'. It's the drivers who are willing to push, so that they themselves fall apart 1 foot past the finish line. We haven't had that in a few years, and I'm glad to see it back in the sport.
So yes, the WDC for 2018 is very important to these two men, to them it's more important than anything.