Constructors title has priority: No gifts to Bottas

D as makes Lewis Hamilton a champion. The hunger for victories has not broken even after the fifth world title. The defeats in Austin and Mexico keep the world champion busy. He speaks of 'shocking experiences'. And the fact that he only won once in his career at Interlagos annoys him too. 'I would like to turn that off.' All of this keeps the pressure high, although the Englishman could actually take things a little easier after completing the World Championship mission.

The priority now is clearly winning the Constructors' Championship for Mercedes. The starting point is clear. Ferrari has to make up 13 points. A Mercedes victory is enough to prevent that. Hamilton wants to give something back to the team that has created the basis for four of its five titles. “I know that the constructors' championship is more important for the team. The driver title is more of a bonus for them. That's why I'll do everything I can to get this job done. '

Wins for free are not wins

The tire problems in the last two races are still not entirely clear to Hamilton:' Me I'm sure our boys already have answers. ”They have. In Austin they overheated, in Mexico they were too cold. Unusually for Mercedes, they never came into the temperature window. That didn't affect qualification because the pace is faster on Saturday than in the race. That puts a strain on the tires. At the racing pace, in connection with the downforce level, the speed was not enough to heat up the tires. The result was so-called “cold grains”.

For the Brazilian GP, ​​the engineers are expecting a normal race again. It will still be a tight squeeze, Hamilton fears: “Ferrari and Red Bull will be strong here. We need everything and a little more to beat them. ”Should the situation arise that two Mercedes are in the lead, Hamilton team-mate Valtteri Bottas will not return the victory that the Finn sacrificed at the Russian GP.

The Englishman explains why: “Valtteri is good enough to win on its own. He doesn't need my help, and he wouldn't be happy if I gave him anything. I wouldn't do him any favors with that. ”In the past, victories were more of a humiliation for the recipient than a good deed. Ayrton Senna let Gerhard Berger win in Suzuka in 1990. Nigel Mansell has itdone at the same place two years later with Ricciardo Patrese. The winners could never be really happy about their victories later.

In 2008, Hamilton was still a child

Then Hamilton looked back ten days at that day in Mexico that made him his fifth Times made world champion. He compared it to his first, which he lashed down with 5th place in Brazil in 2008. “I was a child then. I only had talent, but not the mental stability, inner balance and experience of today. ”Ticked off one goal and set my sights on the next. “This winter I will again think a lot about where I can improve. As long as I don't win all the races, there is always room for improvement. ”

Hamilton doesn't want to think about Michael Schumacher's seven world titles. “I don't even know how long I'll be driving. There is also no guarantee that we will win as many races in the future as in previous years. 'The Mercedes driver expects even more resistance in 2019:' Max and Ferrari's new drivers are hungry for success. I have to make sure I'm not left behind. ”