2018 could be my toughest title fight, says Hamilton

London : Lewis Hamilton says 2018 world championship victory would mean more than his previous Formula 1 titles given that Mercedes might currently only be the third-fastest team behind Ferrari and Red Bull.

Last season Hamilton made it clear how much more satisfying it was to be fighting a driver from another team, as he went head to head with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel after three years of battling previous Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Mercedes has yet to win a grand prix in 2018, with Red Bull also now in the mix and Kimi Raikkonen raising his game for Ferrari too.

Asked what it would mean to beat two rival teams to a title, Hamilton replied: “Who knows what the season holds? If it continues the way it is, it’s going to be very tough to win.

“But if there’s an opportunity, and we were to finish on top, it would mean even more, as it’s even a tougher season than before.”

Hamilton admitted that his difficult weekend in China had emphasised that Mercedes does not have the fastest car at the moment.

“My goal is obviously still the same, but it is clear from the weekend that we are not the quickest,” he said.

“We’ve lost performance since Melbourne, and maybe more so even [at Shanghai].”