Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want to think about the prospect of matching Michael Schumacher’s seven Formula 1 title so soon after claiming No.6.
The Briton moved to within one of the German legend after finishing second at the United States GP this past weekend, following a season that has seen 10 wins and six other podiums so far.
Naturally, the topic of reaching that hallowed figure of seven was soon brought up post-race in Austin but Lewis was quick to downplay it.
“I’ve always said that reaching Michael’s [record] was never a target for me,” Hamilton explained via Crash.net. “I’m not really one that really thinks of records and those kinds of things.
“I definitely had thought that getting anywhere near Michael was just so far-fetched and I remember having my one title for a long period of time, then getting a second one.
“It was so far away and now yet it seems so close yet it is so far away that I still can’t really even comprehend.”
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This year’s championship marks Hamilton’s fifth in the past six years since Mercedes became the dominant force in F1.
But he warns the kind of success he and the German manufacturer have enjoyed can’t last forever.
“The challenges that we’ll face in these next coming months, the next season… You look at these other teams that have really been putting some astonishing performances in the second half of the season,” he claimed.
“It’s going to take another load of incredible performances and work from myself and all the people who are around me and I really don’t want to have to think about trying to get to seven because, at the moment, I’ve got enjoy right now.”
Another topic that is often brought up is retirement and the 34-year-old claimed there was still plenty of fuel in the tank left to finish off his “masterpiece”.
“It’s a scary thought that one day we athletes have to hang up [and] stop doing what we’ve loved our whole lives,” he was quoted by RaceFans.
“I don’t know if I’ve quite hit my peak yet but obviously I’m nearby and I feel energised, I feel like I could still run a marathon right now. I feel like I’ve still got more to do.
“Ultimately what I do is an art form. That’s the idea in my mind that I’m trying to create a masterpiece and it’s still not finished quite yet.”
