Lewis Hamilton has said he intends to try to seal his fourth Formula One world championship with victory at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend. The British driver, who won at the last round in Austin, can secure the title if he finishes fifth or higher on Sunday, regardless of where his Ferrari rival, Sebastian Vettel, ends the race. Having the advantage has not diminished Hamilton’s eagerness to continue the run of success he has enjoyed, with six wins from the past eight races.
Should Hamilton take the title he will become the most successful British driver, with one more championship than Sir Jackie Stewart. His fourth would equal Alain Prost and Vettel, with only Juan Manuel Fangio on five and Michael Schumacher on seven in front of him, but Hamilton remains focused on the task in hand.
“It doesn’t change my mindset. I want to win,” he said. “That’s the aim, I have no desire to come here and finish fifth and watch someone else stand on the podium. You are only as good as your last race, so the dream would be to be standing on the top step of the podium this weekend having won the championship. That’s the best feeling.”
Hamilton won his first title with McLaren in 2008 but with his fourth now almost secured he acknowledged how far he has come since then. “The difference is in 2008 I was a kid,” he said. “I’d had all the natural talent I have today but I didn’t have the knowledge and experience. I’m now fighting a championship-winning team in Ferrari and a champion driver but I’m much better equipped than I was in 2008. It’s actually been more enjoyable this year being in the position I am. A lot more comfortable in my own skin, so that’s really helped.”
He leads Vettel by 66 points in the world championship, having enjoyed a remarkable run of success since the summer break. Vettel had led the title race since the first round and had a 14-point advantage after the 11th in Hungary. However, since then Hamilton has been firmly on top and only a DNF could derail his championship challenge this weekend. He acknowledged how significant his run of success had been.
“I have come into this second half of the season and I still feel so much strength,” he said. “I feel fitter, healthier and stronger and I am riding a wave of great reliability and teamwork, and it has been a good second half to the season. I have enjoyed the battle all the way through. At the beginning, we had a constant fight and Sebastian was up ahead. I’d get close and then he’d pull more points on me but I was confident that at some stage we would get closer.”
Hamilton has struggled on occasion with the car this season, with balance and set-up proving difficult, but it has proved to be bulletproof in reliability terms. He has finished at every meeting this season, part of a hugely impressive record. He has scored points in every race, with a lowest position of seventh in Monaco, and has accumulated nine wins from the 17 meetings thus far – and is confident the car will remain solid in Mexico.
“Reliability has been exceptional this year and it is very rare you go through the season without any reliability issues,” he said. “I can’t tell you how well I have saved my engines to make them last. I am hoping that those savings will make the difference this weekend.”
After the summer break, he won a close battle in Belgium and a further victory at the next round in Monza put him ahead of Vettel in the points for the first time, a lead that he has not relinquished. He won three of the following four races, with a second place in Malaysia. Vettel, in contrast, saw his title hopes crumble in the course of three races. He went out in a first-lap crash in Singapore, could manage only fourth in Malaysia after starting at the back following an engine change, and had to retire at Suzuka because of a spark plug failure.
The German reflected on how costly those meetings had been. “There were a couple of races where we were just weren’t there to fight, we didn’t have a chance to fight. I would have loved to be on three wheels, even in the race but with a chance to fight. They obviously got away from us and we were just sitting on the sidelines, so that was bitter, but in the end it made a big difference.”
