Abu Dhabi: Defending Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has hammered out an emphatic statement of intent ahead of the new season, which begins this month, insisting he wants to dominate in even more convincing fashion this year.
Hamilton powered to 11 victories — the joint second-best tally of all time — to seal his second global crown in 2014, following his 2008 success.
He left Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate and championship runner-up Nico Rosberg trailing in his wake by winning six of the final seven grands prix of the year, including the season-ending Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.
To repeat such magnificence — let alone surpass luminous achievements, which included becoming statistically the best British F1 driver in history with 33 race wins — would be unfathomable for most drivers.
But Hamilton is eager to continue to hurtle down the path to sporting immortality and will not rest on his laurels.
Speaking to laureus.com to promote next month’s Laureus World Sport Awards, in which he has been nominated in the World Sportsman of the Year category, the 30-year-old said he was feeling relaxed and full of optimism for the forthcoming campaign.
“I feel fresh, I feel fit,” he said. “I will plan to drive as good as I did last year, but I want to be better. I think 2014 was definitely one of the best, if not the best, year of my career. But we want to be better this year, we want to try and dominate even more.
“I hope that we have the package and I hope that we have some good races, but I’m just grateful that I get to race again.”
Hamilton and Rosberg won all but three races on the 2014 calendar, giving the Mercedes team a comfortable victory in the World Constructors’ Championship.
The Briton would relish sterner tests this year, however, to sate his raging thirst for fierce wheel-to-wheel combat.
He said: “I really like to race. The 2015 cars are going to be evolutions of last year’s cars, so it’ll be the same people that we were racing with last year [in contention for the title]. Red Bull, Williams, and then you’re hoping that it’s a bit of a better year for teams like McLaren and Ferrari, so that we have more people to race. The more the merrier.”
Hamilton added: “There was one year the first seven races were won by a different driver, a different team, that’s what people want to see. But, most importantly, if the cars are close, you can have real races where you’re overtaking and battling and that’s what I love doing. That’s what racing’s about.”
Having turned 30 in January, Hamilton also revealed his thoughts about the future, insisting he will know when it’s time to end his career, though he believes that will be a long way down the road.
He said: “If I’m lucky enough to be able to live out my whole Formula One career, then I think I’ve got a good seven, eight years left in me. I’m sure I could go longer, but I think there are only 22 seats in Formula One, so you’ve got to imagine that there are going to be kids coming up along the way. I don’t plan on hogging my seat, particularly if I’m not competitive in my later years. I’ll definitely stop.”
He went on: “Of course, I look ahead to try and imagine what my life will be like in the future, but to be honest, generally the way I live my life is day by day, because I honestly believe you never know when it’s going to be your last day, so I want to make sure that I enjoy as much as I can whatever it is I’m doing, workwise or in my personal life.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have this incredible career, the incredible life that I have, the family, good people around me, so I try and enjoy it. There are so many youngsters or people in the world who would love to be doing what I’m doing.”
