Lewis Hamilton Q&A: I feel blessed to be with this team

It was a pretty lonely afternoon for Lewis Hamilton in China on Sunday, but the Mercedes driver was not complaining as he took this third win of the season, leading home team mate Nico Rosberg for a third consecutive one-two…

Q: Lewis, three wins in a row…

Lewis Hamilton: …yeah, isn’t that fantastic? I couldn’t be happier. What an incredible job this team has done. It’s a dream, winning races - that’s what I live for, that’s what I wake up for and what I’m aiming for every single day. It is a huge, huge thanks to the guys in the team. The car just felt incredible. Right now we have the best car, the best engine - and I want to be the best driver around. But it wasn’t only my third win in a row - it was the third one-two for Mercedes in a row, and that is pretty unique.

Q: It was a very different win to Bahrain…

LH: …yes, it was. I came here with the intention not to have a race like in Bahrain - even if I know that the fans quite like that. For me, I prefer it the way it happened today. When I reflect on it, in the first stint I was watching out quite a lot on my front tyres - especially the left one - and was really surprised that I kept my lead even after pitting and that there was quite a gap to the cars behind me. From there on I knew that this would be a pretty good race for me. Inside myself I feel that it was one of the best races of my career. True, there was not much battle for P1, but the feeling of being in control every single moment - that is something that a driver always aims for. Being able to do your own race, that is when you can work on your skills. And it was a very good afternoon for that. (laughs)

Q: But how is it emotionally - being at the front all by yourself?

LH: Ha, I could get used to that. Okay, the last win was very different because of the battle with my team mate, but in fact every race and every win is different. So if this one was cruising then it is only half the truth because with the rain on Saturday it made it a bit tricky to set up the car as I’ve done many changes yesterday.

Q: How do you feel in regards to the championship? Three wins is quite a bid…

LH: To be honest I don’t waste a thought on the championship right now. I am happy about those three wins - feeling that I am still able to improve with every race, that I am physically and mentally stronger than ever before. These are the important messages for this man here. (pointing at himself) There are so many psychological battles involved in sports. Nico (Rosberg) is very fast, so I am happy having put in some really good performances. Being with such a fantastic team makes me very grateful.

Q: That early chequered flag on lap 55 - what was going through your head at that moment?

LH: Somehow I knew that it couldn’t have been the end - but also that they couldn’t possible do such a mistake - so I lifted a bit but immediately went back into racing mode - so as not to give somebody else the chance to take it away from me. (laughs)

Q: Your third win also means that you’ve outperformed your team mate three times. Do you still say that there is no ranking within the team?

LH: No. It’s still a long way to go. I have never asked for anything in this respect. I just let my results speak for themselves.

Q: Next stop will be Barcelona and the start of the European season. What do you expect then?

LH: That it is getting even more tight. That there will be more battles somewhere - hopefully behind me. (laughs) But I don’t mind being in the battles, as long as the car is so fantastic. I feel really blessed to be with this team.