HAMILTON DRIVEN TO ROAR PAST SCHUMACHER

ANYONE who wonders whether Lewis Hamilton’s success has dimmed his competitive spirit should have heard the sound of him banging on a table near Turin. At Melbourne’s Albert Park this weekend, the world champion begins his 12th season in Formula One where he started his first in dazzling style. His life has been transformed by four titles and tens of millions of pounds since he was a McLaren rookie, but he still carries the enthusiasm of old to the opposite side of the world. ‘I really, really want more than anything currently in my life to excel in Melbourne,’ said Hamilton, 33. He bangs the table. ‘I want to arrive fit.’ Bang. ‘I want to hit my weight target.’ Bang. ‘I want to kill it through practice, to get pole position, and to win convincingly. I didn’t finish off last season in the greatest way (failing to win any of the final three races), but this is a different story — this is fighting for the championship. ‘As I get older I’m not finding I want to take less risk. I hear about a lot of people who get a family and that makes them think twice about danger, but not caring about risk is never going to change in me.’ Closing in on a £40million-a-year deal to stay at Mercedes beyond his current contract, Hamilton will start the Australian Grand Prix weekend as favourite to win the title, a feat that would lift him alongside Juan Manuel Fangio on five championships and behind only Michael Schumacher on seven. There is also the matter of Schumacher’s 91 race wins. Hamilton is on 62, but given his car’s recent supremacy, nothing is out of reach. ‘It’s easy to forget what a privilege it is when you get caught up in the mix and pressure of Formula One,’ said Hamilton in Italy during an event for Mercedes partners Petronas. ‘When I arrived here today I was like, “I love this job”. It’s very dynamic. It’s different all the time. I’d probably go crazy if it was the same thing every day but you’re always faced with something new, a new schedule, a new country, a new event, a new group of people. I love that.’ His new contract is likely to tie him to Mercedes for two or three more years. But team boss Toto Wolff has said he thinks Hamilton will stick around for longer, mentioning Ferrari as a possible final destination. Hamilton, who is trimming down to under 11st, said: ‘I don’t feel like I’m about to embark on my last contract at the moment, but it could be. I can’t predict how I’ll feel in three years’ time. ‘I don’t know how long my excitement is going to last but, as long as I’m still feeling this way at the start of a season, I’ll keep going. ‘People say, “You’ve won four titles, what keeps you going?” I reset every year. It’s irrelevant what’s happened in the past. What’s relevant is what’s going to happen now.’