Hamilton: I can be 'more aggressive' in Brazil GP win bid

Lewis Hamilton says he might be “a bit more aggressive” in his bid to win the Brazilian Grand Prix now he has clinched the 2019 Formula 1 world title.

Hamilton wrapped up his sixth world championship last time out in the United States, adding to Mercedes’ sixth straight constructors’ crown triumph at the Japanese Grand Prix in October.

Heading into the weekend at Sao Paulo, Hamilton said Mercedes’ early title success means it can use the final two “freebie” races of the year to experiment ahead of next season. The Briton will look to claim his 11th victory of the campaign from third on the Interlagos grid.

“My approach is pretty much the same all year long but maybe we can try to be a bit more aggressive, we can have some fun with these guys,” Hamilton said after qualifying.

“But yeah, I don’t particularly see that there’s any reason to make any changes. That’s ultimately what’s got me to where I am today, so I’ll just continue with that.”

Hamilton missed out on pole position by 0.191s to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and is now enduring his longest streak without a pole since joining Mercedes (10 races).

The six-time world champion admitted after qualifying that he had “no idea” where Mercedes’ engine rivals performance gains had come from, after the German manufacturer was unable to match Ferrari and the Honda-powered Red Bull on the straights.

But Hamilton remains confident about Mercedes’ chances in the race and is expecting a “close” battle for victory.

“I think in general our race trim has often been quite good,” he explained.

“These guys seem to continue to step it up a little bit more in terms of their performances have been improving, improving through the year.

“I think it’s definitely going to be a close race, it’s not an easy track to overtake on but tyre durability has been a strength of ours or at least, I’ve found for me.

“So if that’s the same then hopefully I can utilise that.”