Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton says he is very “proud” of making almost no unforced errors so far this season.
Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship to 40 points at the weekend after winning the Singapore Grand Prix.
Since the British Grand Prix, Hamilton has moved to the top of the standings and opened up a lead over championship rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
Vettel was leading at his home German Grand Prix in July before making an error on a slightly wet circuit, while at Singapore the team’s pit stop strategy cost him second place and he ended up finishing behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton, by contrast, has kept the errors down to a minimum and says his recent domination is due to good work from himself and the team.
“I don’t look at it and think ‘we’ve lucked in’,” he said. “When Vettel hit the wall the other day, damaged the car and lost running on the track, that’s not us lucking in. I take a lot of pride in not putting myself in those positions.
“I know my team is relying on me, just as his team is relying on him. There’s a lot of pressure on us drivers. It’s only small percentages that you get wrong and they have bigger ramifications.
“As a team we honestly don’t waste any time wondering what they’re doing, or if they’re feeling pressure, or if they’re feeling happy or unhappy. There’s nothing we can do about them, all we can do is be the best we can over a weekend.”
