Lewis Hamilton says that title thoughts have not entered his mind, despite opening a 28-point advantage in the championship.
Hamilton trailed Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel throughout the opening half of the campaign, but pulled three points clear courtesy of his triumph in Italy.
Mercedes struggled in Singapore but the first lap drama facilitated Hamilton’s path to victory, and he stretched his title advantage to 28 points due to Vettel’s exit.
Hamilton, though, insists he is focusing one race at a time, and is not allowing himself to consider the bigger picture.
“Not for a second am I thinking about that [the championship]," he said.
"I've just been taking the races one at a time.
“It doesn't matter to me when it happens. For me, it is making sure I have won it when I cross the line at the end of the season. That's what matters.”
Hamilton once more stressed that the unexpected points swing has not changed his mind set for the remaining six Grands Prix of the campaign.
“I'm not really reflecting too much on the last race," he explained.
"I woke up that morning anticipating the difficulty of overtaking at that circuit and thinking I would lose a good 10 or 15 points to Sebastian.
“So, to come out of it the other way around was obviously a surprise. However, I do still feel like my state of mind is exactly the same as it was before.
“Of course, it is a part of a turning point on the season when you are coming from behind all season long and now you are leading the championship. I just have to make sure that was the last time.”
Hamilton heads into this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix having taken four pole positions at Sepang, but just one victory at the circuit, scored with Mercedes in 2014.
Hamilton dominated at Sepang 12 months ago before retiring due to an engine failure.
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