WE’LL TAKE IT TO MAX IN AMERICA
Texas race key for Hamilton hopes
LEWIS HAMILTON says there is no extra pressure on him to keep title rival Max Verstappen at bay at the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton trails Red Bull’s Verstappen by six points with six races remaining this season.
It promises to go down to the wire but the Texas race and the following grand prix in Mexico could go a long way to determine who will be crowned champion.
Red Bull have an enviable record at the Mexico City circuit – meaning Sunday’s race takes on critical importance for the Mercedes star.
But seven-time world champion Hamilton said: “It’s important to win every race somehow, maximise our points, and that’s our goal over the next six races.
“It’s going to be incredibly difficult. And there will be moments where we can perhaps edge them out. I don’t like to assume that Mexico is not going to be strong, but they are usually very strong in Mexico.
“A lot can happen in these six races, so we just take it one race at a time and give it everything we’ve got.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Verstappen has given Hamilton his most difficult challenge yet, and says a world title triumph for the Dutchman would be the team’s “biggest achievement”. The pair have gone toe-totoe over the course of 16 races this season, with Horner saying: “Lewis has had an amazing career and he’s still in fantastic form. “He’s still a titan of the sport. The fact that Max is able to go toe-to-toe with him is probably something Lewis hasn’t had throughout his career – certainly through the championship years. There’s been nothing with this degree of intensity. “There’s a lot at stake for him as he’s going for a record-breaking eighth championship. “Max is going for his first and he knows he’s got many more years to come. It would be our biggest achievement. “If you look at the strength of Mercedes, and the dominance they’ve had, it’s clear that nobody’s come near them for years. No one has put them under this kind of pressure at this stage of the season.
“So it will be an enormous achievement if we pull it off.”