While he anticipates even tougher competition from Sebastian Vettel this season, Lewis Hamilton feels he is on top of his game.

"Given that we ended the season with Ferrari, Red Bull and ourselves very close, I anticipate this year will be quite similar," said the Mercedes driver at today's launch of the car he hopes will take him to a fourth title. "I think we will see a tougher battle."

Last year was tough enough, albeit if only for half a season. For much of the first half of the year the Briton trailed rival Sebastian Vettel, but a combination of errors and poor reliability saw the challenge fade away as the season progressed.

Earlier in the year, as Vettel put together a string of strong performances, signalling the fact that Hamilton had a fight on his hands, the Briton was relishing the fact, delighted to be going head-to-head with a driver he respected. However, all that fell apart in Azerbaijan, where the German suffered a moment of madness.

Asked if he expected any similar antics from Vettel this season, Hamilton smiled and replied: "You have to expect it could be worse.

"Always expect the worst and hopefully it will be better," he quickly added. "This year, given the fact it is going to be a closer season, we have no idea what we are going to face.

"Last year was a positive year in handling the different situations that I faced and I will be even better this year.

"I am focused on making sure I perform at my best," he added. "Hopefully if I am performing at my best there will be issues, because they will be upset about it."

Asked about mind games, Hamilton said: "Honestly, I don't play mind games... I just drive faster."

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