Hamilton: 'Wheel-to-wheel racing is what I live for!'

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On the eve of another weekend of racing in China, Lewis Hamilton says he is eager to resume his battle with Sebastian Vettel.

The Mercedes driver lost the first round to the Ferrari stalwart and even admitted he couldn't sleep on the night of his defeat in Melbourne.

"I felt pretty good after the race," Hamilton explained.

"And I was then afterwards thinking that you lost the race and it feels more painful but you just turn that into... you use that as positive energy, so you're training, focused on the next race, all I could think of.

"I couldn't sleep one night and all I could think of is to win the next race. So whilst some of it is negative, we turn it into positives and we move forward."

Ferrari's surprise win in the season opening round at least succeeded in galvanizing the attention of race fans around the world following Mercedes' insatiable period of dominance.

'Mercedes still at the top of my list,' contends Vettel

And Hamilton says he is just as much in demand for some good wheel-to-wheel racing than the fans.

"Yeah... My favourite form of racing is go-karting, it's still hands-down the best form of racing because it's wheel-to-wheel all the way from start to finish.

"And that's what I grew up living for and I lived every day in Formula 1 in my life, waiting for the day for those kind of battles.

"We had an amazing battle in 2014 with Nico Rosberg in Bahrain, I'm dying for that day to come again."

The man most likely to challenge the three-time world champion in the immediate term is obviously Sebastian Vettel.

"I hope that this happens with me and Sebastian because he's a four-time world champion, one of the best of our generation, so I think the fans are sitting on the edge of their seats for that.

"I just hope it's not a season of strategy. I want to do some track stuff, that's what I live for, that's what drives me."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.