LEWIS Hamilton knows now is the time for a cool, calm, collected head in the wake of back-to-back wins that have reignited his Formula 1 world title challenge.
It would be easy for euphoria to set in after Hamilton's majestic drives at Silverstone a fortnight ago and at Hockenheim on Sunday in which he has been in a league of his own.
Just four weeks ago, Hamilton had failed to score in his previous two
races. The 23-year-old's on-track failures were being dissected from every angle, and at that stage it appeared he could do little right. But now Hamilton is the toast of the sport again after taking a four-point lead in the championship.
But with eight races remaining, Hamilton knows as easily as the situation has remarkably turned in his favour, it could all go horribly wrong again.
"It's too early to say that I'm now the man to beat," assessed Hamilton. "We're looking strong, looking good, and we're in a good position, but as you know in a Formula 1 season things change, teams always make steps here and there.
"As you saw last year we were swapping and changing, so in the next few races I don't know what to expect. All I know is we will have a competitive car, and if we can keep challenging for wins, then great. I've said it before, but we've really transformed this year's car over the past six weeks. It's now so well-balanced and responsive, it just feels fantastic to drive. You can always trust it and get something more out of it. But I'm not going to say the other guys need to pull their finger out or something like that. So far the team have done a great job, and we are really on top of our game right now. But we cannot get too far ahead of ourselves.
"We have got a lot of work to do for the rest of the season, although if we can continue with this momentum we're looking very good. Now it's on to the next race, with Hungary a very good one for us, so fingers crossed."
Meanwhile, Niki Lauda believes Hamilton could become "unbeatable" following a "Senna-type" drive on Sunday. The three-times world champion has been blown away by Hamilton's last two performances. Lauda has previously been critical of the Briton. But he now feels Hamilton has managed to get his act together with wins at Silverstone and Hockenheim where he conjured up two breathtaking moves late on to claim victory at the weekend.
"The race was won by Lewis and not by the team, because the team made it unnecessarily complicated," said Lauda. "Whatever excuse they will have, the other way was easier. But if he continues to drive like this, and not start fading like last year in the last couple of races, he is going in the right direction. It was a great race from him. Outstanding. Senna-type driving.."
The full article contains 512 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
