MONTMELO – Lewis Hamilton has said that he feels happier than he has been “for a long, long time” in Formula 1 following a near-perfect start to the 2015 season.
The defending world champion has won three of the opening four races of the year, scoring 93 of a possible 100 points to move into a 27-point lead at the top of the championship standings.
For this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, most of the teams are expected to bring a number of updates for their cars.
Although Mercedes is not making widespread changes, Hamilton is confident that the team can retain its advantage at the front of the field.
“I feel confident that the team have done everything we could to be as strong as we can this weekend, and to improve,” Hamilton said.
“I think others will have improved as well. We’ve not come with a ton of upgrades. Lots of the teams just pile on lots of different things. We’ve come with the quality upgrades rather than quantity, so hopefully it’ll be good.”
Hamilton admitted that he is feeling very comfortable in F1 at the moment, believing that he is in even better shape than he was during his 2014 championship campaign.
“I feel very happy with how it’s gone,” Hamilton said. “I left the last race, sitting on the plane, thinking ‘wow, it’s been a great couple of weeks’.
“When you had a year like last year, to continue with it was not easy, to repeat what you’ve done before or even do better, it’s not easy. So far, I think it’s been better than last year, so I’m really happy with it.”
Hamilton has spent some time in the United States over the past few weeks, and was spotted at the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas last weekend.
The Briton admitted that he enjoyed being able to do things such as go to the fight and remain at the peak of his powers for racing on track.
“I’m probably the happiest I’ve been for a long, long time career-wise,” Hamilton said. “Outside, it’s great when you can do things that you want to do which are not distractions, and then you can perform.
“I’m very careful with the things I choose to do, and they don’t come in the way of ultimately preparing for my racing.”
With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2015 season, Hamilton has been engaged in contract negotiations with Mercedes for many months now, but had little new information to give on it.
“There’s nothing really to comment on at the moment,” he said. “However, I have read it several times, so I’m fluent in lawyer jargon.
“It’s been good in that sense because I think when I retire I could write some contracts… so if any of you guys need a manager, I think I could do a good job for you!”
