25/08/2017
NEWS STORY
While questions remain over whether his decision to hand back second place to Valtteri Bottas in the final moments of the Hungarian Grand Prix might prove costly - world championship costly - some even wondering whether he is mellowing in his 'old age', ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, his 200th F1 race, Lewis Hamilton insists he is hungrier than ever.
"One thing for sure in this second part of the season is that I'm here for blood," he told reporters at Spa. "I'm here to win and I'm here to stay.
"It's strange," he continued. "When you're racing for so long, you would think that maybe your passion or your desire to win would fade. But it's stronger than ever. And that's exciting for me.
"I want the next nine races to all be tens," he said, referring to the fact that he wants his performances to be inch-perfect, as opposed to finishing fifth in every race. "I want you guys to be standing there with those boards.
"I'm going to be ahead of him in every single race from now on," he said of his title fight with Sebastian Vettel, "that's my goal... no games. I'm here to win. I want it just as much if not more than anyone else this year."
Reflecting on the 199 races that went before, he said: "My first Grand Prix was such a huge highlight. My first Grand Prix win, Silverstone Grand Prix win, Monaco Grand Prix win. Winning the title in Brazil was a highlight. It wasn't actually a great experience but it was still a highlight in my career.
"I think a favourite would probably be a wet race," he admitted, "when you've come from tenth or fourth and you out-smart the guys ahead of you and exploit the car as no-one thought you could. When you come back and your engineers didn't expect to see the speed you had, that's an amazing feeling."
Check out our Friday gallery from Spa, here.