Lewis Hamilton: Leading title race will not change my approach

Lewis Hamilton is adamant his situation and mindset have not changed now he is again leading the Formula One World Championship.

So long the hunter during the current campaign, Hamilton is in front for only the second time this season in the wake of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.

After bitter rival and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg retired after 14 laps following a wiring-loom failure in the steering column of his car, Hamilton went on to take the chequered flag.

The 29-year-old now has a three-point lead going into the final five races of the season, starting with next weekend’s race in Japan, and followed swiftly a week later by the inaugural Russian Grand Prix.

But despite being in front, Hamilton said: “Nothing changes. I have believed, since the time I started training for this season, that I can win the world championship this year. And with a great car like this, even with some of the difficulties I’ve had, you know you are still within shooting range.

“I haven’t lost that vision or that dream, that’s still there, and I didn’t leave Singapore thinking the title is more of a possibility. In my mind I’m still hunting for it and I’ve got to go just as hard, if not harder, over these final races.”

After winning the last two races from pole position, Hamilton would appear to have momentum on his side.But given Mercedes’ unreliability of late, he is also aware of how quickly a situation can turn.

“Momentum is not something I generally talk about because it can be snatched away,” added Hamilton. “Look at Nico. He had momentum from good results, and then one DNF [did not finish] and it was snatched away. I’ve also had that, so you just have to take it one race at a time.

“But I’m happy I’ve been at my best, getting the [recent] pole positions, maximising all the races.

“I now want to make sure these last five races – if I never do any more races in my life – are as good. They have to be the ones.”