Melbourne, March 22 (IANS) Reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on Thursday said he has not reached his “peak” as a driver ahead of the season’s curtain raiser in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old Britisher, who has four world championships (2008, 2014, 2015 and 2017) to his name, and is vying for a fifth title this year, was speaking at the official press conference before the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, reports Efe.
“I’m sure there is a peak for a driver when it gets harder to reach the fitness level that we do today. When your interest starts to decline, when your drive starts to decline, I guess that’s when you’re over your peak.
“But I definitely don’t feel I’m that. I’m definitely in a good range now and that’s where I need to continue, to extract the most from it,” Hamilton said.
He said it was a privilege to be in Formula One, having witnessed the sport’s progress over recent seasons and competing with the best drivers such as Germany’s Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), another four-time champion sitting alongside him on Thursday.
“It’s been a great experience to be able to race against Sebastian, he’s got the four World titles, (…) I think this is an exciting year for Formula One fans, being that we have two four-time World Champions battling it out,” said Hamilton, although he added that the Red Bull team was also capable of springing a surprise.
Hamilton said he was not thinking about reaching the record set by Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio – who won five F1 titles in the 50s — but was focusing on winning races and trying to reach his full potential.