Hamilton: F1 title lead over Ferrari a ‘dream’ scenario 

Lewis Hamilton admits he “could only have dreamed” of leading the 2018 Formula 1 championship standings by such a big margin heading into the second half of the season. 

The Mercedes driver holds a 24-point lead over chief title rival Sebastian Vettel after scoring an unlikely pair of back-to-back wins in Germany and Hungary, while the German manufacturer heads Ferrari by 10 points with nine races to go. 

Despite not having the quickest car at both rounds, Hamilton remarkably won from 14th on the grid at Hockenheim as Vettel crashed out to enjoy a major swing in the  title race, before the Briton took advantage of a wet qualifying to put his Mercedes on pole and record his fifth victory of the season at the Hungaroring.

“I really could only have dreamed that we would be in the position that we are in right now, considering all factors and based on our pure performance, where we stand compared to the Ferraris,” Hamilton explained. 

“Really happy, going into the break, particularly with back-to-back wins. I think that boost will last a long time for our team and it’s encouraging for everyone so I’m excited for the break. 

“[The] second half [of the season] is usually… it gets a bit better on our side so we will go and prepare and make sure we come back even stronger.”

But Hamilton insists he is not getting carried away by his healthy position at the top of the championship standings, adding he is aware how quickly fortunes can turnaround in what has already proved to be a dramatic season so far. 

When asked if he felt as if he already had his fingers on the championship trophy, Hamilton replied: “Absolutely not. No, I think it’s far too early and you’ve seen the ups and downs we’ve had from this year, you’ve been ahead by some points and behind some points. But we have learned a lot. 

“I don’t believe there’s ever a moment that you’ve got your hands on the title or the trophy. We’ve got a long long way still to go. So a lot can happen moving forwards but what’s really important is that we continue to keep up the pressure and keep working as we have done until now.”

And Hamilton does not believe major changes are required at Mercedes in order to boost its chances of claiming what would be a fifth consecutive constructors’ and drivers’ title. 

“There’s nothing we really need to alter. I think our work ethic has been very strong and the team morale is better than ever and the spirit is better than ever,” he said. 

“We’ve just got to keep it up because as I said, we came here, we came to the last race, they kind of blew us away a little bit in qualifying, they would have done here had it been dry so we welcome the wet races, that’s for sure. 

“It’s important to capitalise on those difficult weekends and I think that’s really been a key strength of ours this year, we generally have come away with really good points at circuits which have generally been our weaker races but then we really need to capitalise on the races that we’re really strong at.”