Lewis Hamilton recently won the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix, finishing ahead of rival Sebastian Vettel, to close the gap for the world championship to within six points. The two outright title contenders this season are set to continue their battle at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix later this month and Hamilton is hoping to emulate two tennis players he admires — Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic — as he looks to win his fourth world championship.
"I loved the fight with Sebastian. The best way I can put it is that I love watching tennis, I love watching Federer and Djokovic in finals, and what I really admire is their consistency. I admire their concentration, how they stay at the limit. I felt I had that battle on Sunday," The Telegraph quoted Hamilton as saying.
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Prior to the Spanish Grand Prix, all the teams made a number of upgrades to their cars. While Hamilton managed to edge out Vettel in Spain, the Ferrari driver remains a favourite in Monaco. However, despite that, Hamilton is looking at the 2017 Formula One season as a long game rather than individual races and believes consistency to be the key.
"For me it is about consistency. You can get ahead for one race and be behind in the next. It is about trying to perform as I have this weekend at every single race we have left. That is what I am thinking about," Hamilton said.
"It doesn't matter if I am leading the championship after the next race what matters is if I am leading the championship after the last race."
His battle with Vettel has been so intense after just five races that it left Hamilton breathless during the race as the Brit said that he was on the edge and was pushing so hard every lap that at one point he could not push anymore.
Hamilton's hard-fought win in Spain was down to an amazing strategy by the Mercedes team that allowed him to last for longer on medium tyres before overtaking Vettel on softer rubber. The pair also came close to colliding with each other as Vettel squeezed Hamilton wide and just off the track, which he described as dangerous on team radio at the time.
While Hamilton would have certainly not liked it if that incident with Vettel had cost him the race and valuable championships points, he said: "But I love a tough fight and I love a challenge. He was respectful and still that respect stayed the same at the end. On Sunday he was angry, he said he was angry, he drove a fantastic race but I can understand how he feels."
