Lewis Hamilton believes 2018 has been his best season in Formula 1, in the wake of clinching his fifth World Championship.
Hamilton battled with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for the first half of the campaign but pulled clear as he and Mercedes hit form, while his opponent struggled amid a sequence of errors and setbacks.
Hamilton has taken 10 wins this year, double that of nearest opponent Vettel, and could break the German’s record of most points scored in one season if he scores a top-two result in Abu Dhabi.
But he stressed that there is “always room to improve” as he and Mercedes strives to remain atop the pile heading into 2019.
“Records have never been something that’s been a driver for me,” said Hamilton.
“It’s been more…I do think to this point this is the highest point of my career in terms of my own performance [and] how I perform with the team.
“But I do believe there’s always areas we can improve, so we’ll definitely look at this season at the end of the year, and there will always be areas.
“We didn’t win every single race, there were some mishaps, particularly at the beginning of the year, so there’s always room to improve, I expect to do that and that’s my expectation of myself.
“I’ve got to work this winter, there’ll be a slightly amended approach, of course, you’ve got to dig deep.
“You’ve got these young kids that are coming in, [Charles] Leclerc going to Ferrari, who’s hungry to prove a point, you’ve got Max [Verstappen] who’s still hungry to prove a point, and so I’ve got to make sure that I’m still there.”
Hamilton went on to explain that understanding and honing the mental side of the sport has been a key factor in his progress compared to when he won his first world title.
“I think in 2008 I was still really a kid, I was still maturing,” he said.
“I naturally had all the talent that I needed but not really had the stability, the core strength, mentally and physically, to take all the different blows, from all the different angles, and handle them and still stay balanced.
“With age and experience I’m able to do that now; there’s not really anything that you can throw at me that I can’t handle.
“So I still have that ability I had as a kid but now I have that mentality side of things, that stability, a more centred approach, [and that’s] what allows me to drive and handle myself and steer myself through the year the way I do.”
