Lewis Hamilton will edge closer to Michael Schumacher's all-time record if he wins a fifth F1 world title this weekend in Austin, Texas, but he said on Wednesday that chasing the German great was never part of his plan.
The Mercedes driver will move to within two of Schumacher's all-time mark of seven championships if he scores eight points more than his Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel during the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas on October 21.
Ayrton Senna of Brazil and Lotus celebrates his first ever F1 victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril, Portugal, April 21, 1985. /VCG Photo
Yet Hamilton said that he realized his lifelong ambition in 2015 when he equaled the tally of his boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian triple champion who died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy, and that chasing Schumacher's mark was never his aim.
"Honestly that has never been my goal. I started out with the goal to match Ayrton Senna or to equalize with Ayrton Senna, who's the guy that I aspire to be like," Hamilton told Reuters.
"And I equaled him two years ago. So since then it's kind of been going into unknown territory."
Lewis Hamilton (L) of Great Britain and McLaren and Michael Schumacher (R) of Germany and Mercedes GP drive side by side during the Italian F1 Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, September 11, 2011. /VCG Photo
"So I mean Michael's stats are incredible and still quite a long way away, but I'm here for some time still, so I'm just going to keep working hard and keep trying to do what I do and what I love and enjoy it and we'll see where it takes us."
Hamilton has already won nine races so far this season and looks likely to end the year in double figures.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates on the podium after winning the Japanese F1 Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan, October 7, 2018. /VCG Photo
"This year has been the most intensive, the cars the faster, the requirement on the driver's side physically and mentally is on another level," said Hamilton.
"We've been fighting another team who has had the upper hand for a long part of the season. So collectively as a team we've had to go above and beyond to deliver more than them."