Hamilton not thinking about title, expects Ferrari ‘punch back’

Lewis Hamilton says he is not getting carried away with thoughts of winning the 2018 Formula 1 world championship and will approach this weekend’s United States Grand Prix like any other race.

The Mercedes driver heads to Austin – the scene of his 2015 title triumph – with a 67-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel knowing he will clinch a fifth drivers’ world title if he outscores the Ferrari driver by eight points.

But Hamilton, who has won five of the six races to be held at the Circuit of the Americas since 2012, insisted he is not getting distracted by the prospect of sealing the title with three races to spare.

“It just feels like another race weekend that we have, another race that we want to win,” Hamilton said.

“It’s a simple goal for us, we just arrive trying to do the same thing. Our goal is really just to perform as we have in the previous races. We’re not thinking of it in any other way.

“As a team, none of us are saying ‘how cool would it be if it happened this weekend’, we are not focusing on ifs. We are focusing on making sure we deliver.”

The Briton has turned in a brilliant run of form since the summer break, claiming six victories in the last seven rounds – including four on the bounce – to stand on the brink of joining Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio in winning five or more world championships.

Hamilton stressed Mercedes cannot afford to get complacent despite holding a comfortable margin over Ferrari in both championships, adding he expects the Scuderia to “punch back hard” in Austin.

“There are still 100 points available so we can just never be complacent in a championship as intense as this,” he explained. “We expect Ferrari to punch back hard here this weekend, so we can’t be relaxed in any way, shape or form.

“We have got to make sure we come here and raise the bar again. I’m definitely not thinking how I will feel here if I do the job, because I have got to do the job and that just adds more pressure and you don’t need more pressure.

“I am just focusing on driving the best that I’ve driven all year long and that we get the car where we need to get it. It’s going to be wet tomorrow I think and potentially on Saturday, so it’s going to be a tricky weekend and nothing is a given.”