Lewis Hamilton welcomes more competition to his Formula 1 throne as it makes his success more "painful" for his rivals.
The Mercedes driver has had the pleasure of seeing off a threat from Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari the past two years, with some now asking whether the German can get the job done against Hamilton.
Now though, he has the arrival of Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia and Red Bull's Max Verstappen keen to trigger a generational shift but that doesn't phase the five-time F1 champion.
“Each year the goal is to get better and, looking at our competitors out there, the more competition, the better,” Hamilton told British newspaper The Express.
“You always want to be against the best while at your best because then when you beat them, it is more painful for them and more enjoyable for you.”
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As Hamilton adds to his lists of achievements, however, the prospect of matching Michael Schumacher's records of seven F1 titles and 91 wins also comes into view.
“I don’t think it adds pressure, it doesn’t really change anything, to be honest,” the 34-year-old commented.
“Every year you reset, you re-evaluate and you set new goals. That is the same for all of us when you come to a new year, you set new heights and new targets.
“So it is pretty much the same as in recent years, we are out there to work cohesively and extract absolutely everything from ourselves as a team and the car.”
