Silverstone victory reignited the 'fire' within Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July was the crucial factor that has reignited his determination to win this year's world championship.

"Silverstone was a real empowering weekend," the Mercedes driver said. "It kind of sparked a forest fire within me, and that’s hopefully reflecting in my driving and the way I'm working with my guys."

After Silverstone, Hamilton was only able to finish fourth in Hungary. But since Formula 1 has returned from its summer break, the Briton has scored flawless back-to-back wins at Belgium and Spa.

He's also surpassed Michael Schumacher's all-time record for pole positions, and moved into the lead of the drivers championship standings.

“These last few races have been very solid," he agreed. "I felt more heart and passion within myself, I've found more in myself in the last three or four races.

"I always drive with my heart," he continued. "My heart is the engine and the power and the force behind what I do. My mind is really like the rudder, and I feel like it's really steering me in the right direction."

"I feel good. My mind feels exactly the same as it has the last two races and now coming [to Monza]," he added. "Of course that solidifies your confidence and in the car and in the direction you’re going.

“It’s been a real constant search and battle for perfection to overhaul Ferrari.

"But there’s still a long way to go and lots can happen still, so just try to remain in the same frame of mind as I have been."

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Hamilton said that the timing of the summer break had also been important.

"The whole season is kind of full flat out, pedal to the metal, all year long," he explained. "Even going into that break for a little bit I was flat out.

"[I] made sure I recharged the batteries - and that's what they are. They're fully charged and ready to go," he said. "It's like an ERS pack. Towards the end of the season you're running on the low end of the battery pack, whereas I'm operating at the top end. It's a good feeling!"

With the European leg of this year's Formula 1 season now complete, the next race on the calendar is Singapore. The street circuit has come to be seen as something of a 'bogey' circuit for Mercedes.

However, Hamilton is determined not to lose the momentum gained since Silverstone.

“I am going to apply myself the same as I have these past three or four races," he insisted. "I will do all the due diligence it’s possible to make sure that we arrive there best prepared.

"We have no idea until we get there what the picture’s going to look like. But I think we learned a lot from the past.

"I go and approach it with a real positive mind-set that we are going to be fighting for a win," he stated. "Ferrari are often better in hot places [but] I think we’ll be able to give them a good race."

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