No let up from dominant Hamilton as he vows to keep ‘over-delivering’

Lewis Hamilton will enter the climax to the Formula One season “with all guns locked and loaded” after vowing to seal the championship in style by winning every race.

Following a dominant victory on Sunday, Hamilton arrived at Mercedes’ hospitality suite in the Singapore paddock with his face glued to his iphone. The 33-year-old then revealed he had received a message of congratulations from the Hollywood actor, Samuel L. Jackson. “That’s pretty cool,” he laughed. “It never gets old.”

Only hours earlier, Hamilton had taken a major step towards a fifth championship after moving 40 points clear of Sebastian Vettel with just 150 remaining.

A Ferrari strategy gamble cost Vettel a position and three points, but Hamilton insisted he was not “lucking in”.

And although he resisted the temptation to admit he is in the form of his life – after winning four of the last five rounds with some of the most complete performances of his career – he did spell out that he was going above and beyond in a Mercedes car inferior to Vettel’s Ferrari machinery.

He also pointed to the mistakes which have littered his rival’s championship challenge so far.

“When Vettel hit the wall in practice on Friday which damaged the car, and lost running on the track, that is not us ‘lucking in’,” Hamilton said. “I take a lot of pride in making sure that I don’t put myself in those positions.

“There is a lot of pressure on us as drivers and athletes. Small percentages make the difference and if you get those wrong it has bigger ramifications. Ultimately, we are overdelivering. Our car’s true pace is 100 and we’re pulling out 102, and that is an awesome feeling. But we are not being cocky, or overly-confident. We are being diligent and working as hard as we can.

“In my mind I need to win every race. I want to win every race. That is the goal. Who knows what will happen, but I can assure you we will arrive at the next six races with all guns locked and loaded.”