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Lewis Hamilton admits that he takes pride in not making on-track mistakes like title rival Sebastian Vettel. Vettel has made a number of costly errors this season, including crashing out of the lead of the race in Germany and spinning around after making contact with Hamilton in Italy.
The Ferrari driver hit the wall during free practice on Friday in Singapore, damaging his car and ending his session early. Hamilton now boasts a 40 point lead in the championship, and is on course to pick up his fifth world title.
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"I don't look at it and think 'we've lucked in'," Hamilton said. "When Vettel hit the wall the other day, damaged the car and lost running on the track, that's not us lucking in. I take a lot of pride in not putting myself in those positions.
"I know my team is relying on me just as his team is relying on him. There's a lot of pressure on us drivers. It's only small percentages that you get wrong and they have bigger ramifications.
"As a team we honestly don't waste any time wondering what they're doing, or if they're feeling pressure, or if they're feeling happy or unhappy. There's nothing we can do about them, all we can do is be the best we can over a weekend."
Should Hamilton beat Vettel to victory in Russia, the Briton could win the championship without winning a race for the rest of the season. But the Mercedes driver isn't changing his approach as he aims to take victory at every remaining race.
"There is just no need for me to look at the next few races and think 'OK, I need that there, and that there'. In my mind I need to win every race, simple as that," he admitted.
"I focus on that and arrive wanting to win. There will be weekends when we know that maybe we'll be comfortably stronger, and there will be weekends like this where we expect to be behind but we still have that belief that we can win.
"I want to win every race, that's the goal. I'm just not looking at the points. It's nice having 40 points, but it's not the end until it's mathematically impossible [to lose]."
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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F1_IS_Dead
Posts: 123
This guy is sitting in the fastest and easiest to drive car. When he is supposed to win, they just turn the engine up... If he starts from the back, he doesn't even have to overtake. The other "drivers" let him pass. The pressure must be big.