Lewis Hamilton has promised to hit back in Japan this week following frustration in Malaysia as he looks to close in on a fourth Formula One world title.
The Briton had a three-race win streak snapped by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen last weekend but still finished second, extending his championship lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to 34 points with five races left.
But Hamilton, who slammed the performance of his Mercedes after squandering pole position, insisted yesterday he wanted to win the title in style and not crawl over the line.
“I want to win this thing,” he said in Suzuka.
“I know I might have the nail in a little bit but I need to keep hammering it.
“It’s not done until there’s nowhere left to push it basically,” Hamilton, who has won seven of the 15 races so far this year, said.
“In my mind I need to win every race from now on. I’m not here to finish second in every race to do the job – I want to win convincingly.”
Hamilton backed Mercedes to deliver in the cooler conditions in Japan but warned there could still be a twist in the title run-in.
“I’m under no illusion, I’m still hunting for [the title], I’m not defending it,” he said.