Hamilton predicts tight title battle in 2017

40

Lewis Hamilton believes that the 2017 championship battle could be one of the closest in Formula 1 history.

He was talking after claiming victory in the Chinese Grand Prix. That puts the Mercedes driver equal on points with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel after two races.

"I think it's going to be one of the closest ones, if not the closest I've personally ever experienced," he said.

And with Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finishing third and fourth, the title wasn't likely to be a simple two-horse affair in 2017.

"I'm looking forward to this fight. Not only with Sebastian but these other guys as well who are still going to be in amongst it."

Hamilton credited the new 2017-specification cars for putting extra excitement back into the sport.

"The cars look better and they're nicer to drive. They are fantastic," he said. "Not the easiest to get past, but this guy [Verstappen] seems to find it possible. Particularly when it's wet. We'll have to watch the video and see what he's been doing!"

Steely Hamilton stays in charge for Shanghai win

The key to success in Shanghai was staying on top of some tricky track conditions, Hamilton acknowledged.

"Today was very, very tough for us all. It was difficult to know [what tyres to start on]," he said.

"I went out in inters initially on the laps to the grid. Then I tried the slick which was impossible. We all started on inters and it was very, very hard.

"There were a lot of dry patches everywhere - mostly dry, with a couple of corners that were wet," he added. "Trying to keep the car on the track and look after the tyres at the same time was definitely very tough."

The battle continued even after the final round of pit stops, with Vettel eating into Hamilton's lead in the closing stages.

"We were matching times, so if there wasn't a safety car and stuff I think it would have been much closer," Hamilton noted.

"Those last 20 laps or so we were really exchanging times, I kept having to be fed what times he was doing so I could match it. He was closing the lap a little bit but I was able to stay ahead.

"Ferrari have done a fantastic job and I think it's great that we were both still pushing," he added.

GALLERY: All the pictures from Sunday in Shanghai

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.