Mistakes could be key in title race and Hamilton says: "I work hard to position myself mentally and physically so that I'm the last to crack."
Thursday 6 December 2018 14:40, UK
A focused Lewis Hamilton says driver mistakes could be the deciding factor in a close and "intense" F1 2018 title race, but believes he will be the last man to crack under pressure.
Hamilton has moved 17 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' standings after his title rival's costly error and crash at the German GP, which the world champion then won from 14th on the grid.
"The smallest mistakes are even more costly so there's more pressure on that," Hamilton told reporters in Hungary, ahead of the last race before F1's summer break.
Hamilton also argued that Ferrari are still the fastest team in F1 despite Mercedes' move to the top of both championships, claiming the team are having to "overdeliver" to have a chance of sealing a fifth title.
He continued: "It's the most intense battle, we're racing a team that are faster than us this year.
"Last year we were quite balanced, some weekends they were faster than us, some weekends we were faster than them, but this year it's swinging more in their direction so we're having to overdeliver on weekends, and try to pull out more from weekends where we're not quick enough.
"The pressure to extract absolutely every millimetre or every ounce is absolutely greater than ever if I want to be number one at the end."
Asked about Vettel's mistake at the last race and how few he has made this season, Hamilton insisted there were still areas he must improve on - pointing out his qualifying performances and starts - but was still confident in his ability to overcome all challenges.
"Nobody's perfect," he added. "Under this pressure, I really work hard to position myself mentally and physically [so] that I'm the last to crack. That's really my mentality."
Ferrari and Red Bull favourites in Budapest?
With just one victory since 2013, the Hungaroring certainly hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Mercedes and isn't a track they would have wanted to visit as they bid to build on their title advantages over Ferrari and Vettel.
Summing up their previous struggles at the tight circuit, Hamilton commented: "Our car likes the open road."
And the championship leader is expecting a close battle with Ferrari, and a Red Bull team who dominated at the last high-downforce track in Monaco, this weekend.
"This weekend is going to be the same challenge as every single year," he said.
"It's not a power circuit, you've got the Red Bulls that are often closer. You've got the Ferraris which were quickest here last year and it's going to be probably the same thing this weekend.
"Ultimately we're going to try our hardest to improve on that and hope that our car is better in this type of circuit. I think this might be the second-hardest circuit to overtake and it's the second-tightest maybe."
But Hamilton is also motivated to try and beat his rivals, claiming: "I'm here with the mindset I need to get on the front row and I need to be P1, that's my goal."
