Hamilton chasing "imaginary" rival when he's ahead of Bottas
Formula 1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton says he make himself chase an “imaginary” rival whenever he is ahead of title rival Valtteri Bottas, to avoid getting complacent.
Hamilton has a 31-point advantage over teammate Valtteri Bottas in the championship and has been ahead in the standings since round five in Spain.
The five-time world champion will line up behind Bottas for Sunday’s British Grand Prix, after his four-race winning streak was ended at the previous race in Austria.
But Hamilton, who was outqualified by Bottas by 0.006s, said he is always adopting a “chasing” mentality, even on days he is out in front.
“We’re still fighting for the title,” said Hamilton. “I don’t feel necessarily that he’s the only one chasing, I’m still chasing.
“I try to put an imaginary individual ahead of myself. I generally kind of put the previous year’s performances – so last year’s [version of] myself – ahead of me, for example.
“That’s my target: to improve and beat that. But on days like this [qualifying at Silverstone] I’m behind another, so he’s now the guy that I’m chasing.
“As long as you’ve always got a goal to chase, then you can always make improvements, you always have strides to make. So that’s my approach, always.”
Bottas’s third-place finish in Austria, combined with Hamilton finishing fifth, marked the first time in five races that the Finn took points out of Hamilton’s lead.
Pole position at Silverstone was Bottas’s fourth qualifying triumph of the season, a better record than Hamilton has but one that has not translated into enough victories.
Bottas said: “The championship fight is still on. Obviously I’m the one chasing, I’m behind, but there are so many races to go.
“It’s going to be a lot up to me and my performance. So every single opportunity there is I need to get those.
“If I don’t get those then Lewis is going to be far away and I will not be able to reach him in terms of points so [Sunday’s race] is super important. But so is the race after, and the race after.
“The season is still long so I really need to try and take those opportunities and will do everything I can to keep that lead [on Sunday].”
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1 and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 celebrates in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images
Share Or Save This Story
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Why Charles Leclerc didn’t copy Lewis Hamilton’s driving style amid F1 2026 struggle
Fred Vasseur shuts down claims Ferrari split Spanish GP strategy to separate drivers
Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur recall GP2 title and 'most impressive race ever', 20 years on
2025 F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin sets timeline for Formula 1 race seat
Mercedes and Aston Martin go head-to-head in charity football match: Here are the results
Italy’s next F1 world champion?
2025 F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin sets timeline for Formula 1 race seat
Pedro Acosta's potential is 'scary', says crew chief after breakthrough win
Gabriel Bortoleto opens up on Fernando Alonso's personality away from F1 cameras
Otmar Szafnauer raises concern over Cadillac's "suboptimal" split US-UK structure
Great debate: Which circuit should host the F1 2026 finale if the calendar has to change?
Italy’s next F1 world champion?
What's behind the talks between the FIA president and Fernando Alonso over ADUO?
Fernando Alonso is right to sound the alarm about F1 - but history seems to be repeating itself
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments