Lewis Hamilton believes his recovery to second back at Imola could well prove "valuable" in this year's Formula 1 championship fight.

The Briton was staring retirement in the face when he slid off and touched the barrier at Tosa, but able to recover and continue in ninth, and with a little help from a red flag, Hamilton carved his way back up to P2 behind race winner Max Verstappen.

Those 19 points, including the fastest lap bonus, are what gives the seven-time world champion a 14-point lead over Verstappen after four races.

And come Abu Dhabi, Hamilton thinks that might even prove the difference in the final outcome.

“I'm excited for the battle,” he said.

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“I think this is really the first time in a long time that Red Bull has had a championship-winning car, so I think it’s going to be close all the way through the year – and it’s just going to be, hopefully, more and more of these battles.

“Without doubt, getting back to second [at Imola] and getting these points will be very valuable through the season.

“If I’d lost 25 points that would have been hard to recover based on the fact that Red Bull – it’s the first time that they’ve had a championship-winning car, their car is incredibly fast.

“But we’ve got a real close battle which we love the fact that it’s a close battle."

Hamilton's ability really has been the difference so far, along with some strategic help from Mercedes.

And team boss Toto Wolff hailed Lewis, who has actually enjoyed his best-ever start to a season despite the Verstappen/Red Bull challenge.

"It makes no sense to talk about these exceptional Lewis performances because they have been quite regular. It’s his standard now, and I think he sets that standard to himself," said the Austrian.

“I think he is just faultless. There’s no guarantee he will be all season because we all make mistakes and a car can break down, but his ability of learning still after so many seasons, is very impressive.

“The guys and girls in the team are also doing a really great job," Toto added. "Even on the days we lose, we learn and I think the mindset is right and when our car’s not quick enough we are still able to extrapolate good performance.

“But never rest, never have any sense of entitlement. In two weeks it can swing in the other direction and then it will be a weekend to learn.”