Hamilton disputes Mercedes claim his driving has 'gone to a different level'

Lewis Hamilton doesn't believe he's pushed himself to a "different level' in recent races, contradicting Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff's suggestion in Brazil that his title fight with Max Verstappen had "woken up a lion".

The seven-time world champion was commended by Mercedes' top brass after his dominant displays in Sao Paulo and last time out in Qatar.

But rather than justifying his outstanding performances of late by raising his game another notch, Hamilton was of the opinion that it was a convergence of factors that carried him higher.

"I don't know if I agree with it to be honest," Hamilton said, alluding to Wolff's characterization after Brazilian win.

"I don't believe that I've gone to a different level, I think I'm at a good level in general!

"Maybe I tapped into something different in Brazil that maybe I haven't been there before, I don't know. I definitely have in my career, because I've come back from those positions many, many times before."

Hamilton feels he's been performing at a consistent level all year. However, as a driver, his knowledge and understanding of his car his improved, and the same premise applies to his team.

"I like to think that I've been delivering well all year, but you are constantly learning," he added.

"You're learning more about everything, your surroundings, and particularly the car and how you work with the team, how to get more out of every individual on the team.

"I like to think that all of us have. It's not just been me, it's been the engineers, it's been the mechanics, it's been absolutely every individual on the team that has pulled out more.

"That's what has been needed, we always need more, we need more performance, we need more focus, we need more power and strength."

• Read also: Hamilton hopes to have 'positive influence' on Russell

Hamilton also admitted that fighting a formidable adversary for the title, namely Max Verstappen, has also spurred him on.

"The goalpost is always moving, and you're always trying to level up, you're always trying to improve," he explained.

"There's a lot of areas in which you can do it. It's not just how you take one corner, it's how you prepare, it's how you fuel yourself.

"It's how you become more knowledgeable about things, how you approach life. It's in new work and in all things, striking the right balance.

"I think, competition for me, I always put myself as the benchmark in the sense that I'm always trying to beat my previous version of myself and be better than I was before.

"When you're in a title fight like this, you're pushing as hard as you can, and even more so, in areas that perhaps you hadn't done in the past, so that's a positive."

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