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Lewis Hamilton to race hard in bid to overturn Nico Rosberg's title lead

Hamilton heads to Austin 33 points behind Mercedes team-mate

Lewis Hamilton sits in the Mercedes garage during final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to "hold nothing back" in the 2016 season's final four races as he attempts to overturn Nico Rosberg's points lead and win a fourth world championship.

The defending champion heads into the closing six weeks of the season requiring a big swing in points between himself and Mercedes team-mate Rosberg after a turnaround in fortunes since the summer break.

A run of four victories in five grands prix means Rosberg leads the standings by 33 points and the German driver can afford to finish second to Hamilton in each of the final four races to become world champion for the first time.

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With the mathematics now not in his favour, Hamilton says all he can do is perform at his best - starting at the United States GP this weekend, a race which is live only on Sky F1.

"We've got four races left to make the most of it and that's exactly what I plan to do," he said.

The fight for the championship

Driver Points Difference
1. Nico Rosberg 313
2. Lewis Hamilton 280 +33

"It's just about hitting every race weekend as hard as I can, going all out for every win and seeing what happens from there. I'll be holding nothing back out there."

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Hamilton's form and mindset have been placed under heavy scrutiny in the media since Rosberg's latest win in the Japanese GP. A fallout with the British press over so-called 'SnapchatGate' was followed by another poor start in the Suzuka race, which effectively ended his victory hopes immediately.

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A foot injury sustained while training then ruled him out of last week's Pirelli tyre test at Barcelona, although the world champion's participation in Austin has not been in question.

But although on a season-worst run of five races without a win, Hamilton has only once been defeated in five appearances at the US GP with a record-equalling victory on his radar in the Texan capital this weekend.

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Lewis Hamilton pulled out of the Pirelli tyre test at Barcelona to rest a sore foot

"[America] is like a second home race for me these days," he said. "I love the country, the culture, the people and the track, so I can't wait to get started. I've got some great memories from Austin, with three wins from four races and, of course, the title win last year.

"That was one of the highlights of my career, no doubt. It's almost like the American fans have adopted me as their own, so I'll try to channel all of that positive energy into this weekend."

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With the all-Mercedes duel for the Drivers' Championship entering its most critical phase, team chief Toto Wolff has reiterated their desire to ensure the outcome is not decided by mechanical failures or errors.

"The title is purely between them, which is fantastic news for the team as we can be happy whatever the final outcome," said Wolff, after the remaining would-be challengers to Rosberg and Hamilton officially dropped out of contention at Suzuka.

Lewis Hamilton in America

Year Circuit Qualifying result Race result
2007 Indianapolis Pole 1st
2012 Circuit of the Americas 2nd 1st
2013 Circuit of the Americas 5th 4th
2014 Circuit of the Americas 2nd 1st
2015 Circuit of the Americas 2nd 1st

"However, the pressure is on to ensure that their battle is decided man-to-man, and hopefully wheel-to-wheel, on the race track. We may already have celebrated our championship success as a team - but we have a responsibility to the drivers and will not let anything distract us from the job at hand."

The F1 title run-in continues with the US GP, live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. The race begins at 8pm on Sunday. Watch the whole race weekend with a NOW TV week pass - £10.99, no contract

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