Lewis Hamilton claims his desire to add a fifth Formula 1 crown to his collection remains the greatest it has "ever been", despite his interests elsewhere.

The Mercedes driver sits a single point behind Sebastian Vettel at the third-way point in the 2018 season, having lost the championship lead following a disappointing fifth place at one of his most successful races in Canada two weeks ago.

What is also fuelling speculation about his motivations is he is still yet to sign a new contract with the German manufacturer for 2019 onwards, though reports last week suggested it could be announced this weekend in France.

Regardless, Hamilton maintains competing in F1 remains his top priority.

“There are a lot of different things that motivate me. My desire to win this championship is greater than it’s ever been,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.

“I do all of these different things in my life and I have all of these other interests, but none of this would be possible without racing. At the core of me is racing, above everything else.

“So much time, dedication and sacrifice has gone into getting where I am today and I love what I do; I love the competition and the challenge.”

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Currently, however, all that is keeping some level of interest in this season is the tight championship battle with the last three races failing to provide a huge amount of spectacle.

Hamilton has also been a little critical of F1 returning to Paul Ricard for the French GP, claiming the last venue at Magny-Cours would be better, still, he hopes the circuit at Le Castellet can prove him wrong.

“I really don’t know what it [Paul Ricard] is going to provide,” he admitted.

“Is it going to be a boring race like [Montreal] or an exciting one? Is it going to be one like Baku? I really couldn’t tell you, absolutely no idea.

“I hope for France it’s a great one, I really do. I’ve not watched these races so I don’t know what you guys feel.”