Lewis Hamilton claims his Formula One title defence is back on song after enjoying ‘best week of the year’
Brit is having a ball after making history by winning three times in a row at home track Silverstone
LEWIS HAMILTON declared his F1 title defence is back on song after enjoying his "best week of the year".
Hamilton is having a ball after making history by winning the British GP at Silverstone three times in a row.
His victory at the old circuit, and with more misery for championship leader Nico Rosberg, means he is now just ONE POINT behind the German in the championship.
Hamilton, who warmed up for the British GP splashing around with pop babe Rita Ora, spent Sunday night partying with the former X Factor judge in London.
And it is clear to see the 31 year-old is loving his life both on and off the track.
He said: "This has been the best week of the year, without a doubt.
"From last Monday and Tuesday, I had an amazing time relaxing. Work was good fun on Wednesday.
"On Thursday it was amazing seeing the crowd at Silverstone and then following that through in practice, qualifying and the race - everything just feels so solid."
When asked if he was driving the best of his career, Hamilton added: "Last weekend felt pretty awesome, so in that regard, yeah.
"Last year, I was driving exceptionally well although I was more chilled at the end of it.
"But in the last two races this season, the fire's fully lit. I'm firing on all cylinders and I want that to continue."
It has been an astonishing turnaround from five races ago when Hamilton was 43 points behind Rosberg.
But since they crashed out in Barcelona, Hamilton has won in Monaco, Montreal, Austria and Silverstone; the only blemish to his clean sweep came in Azerbaijan.
And those mechanical problems, steward decisions and bad luck that hampered his start to the campaign now seem a distant memory at the half-way stage of the season.
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He added: "It's a great feeling. There were a lot of troubles with reliability before. "Now we've had Monaco and Montreal with no problems. There were no problems in Austria and it was the same at Silverstone.
"The pace has been awesome and really maximised the performance, so I am really happy.
"The car was great last weekend, it was a dream to drive. I felt comfortable in all those conditions, pretty awesome.
"That rough patch I was going through at the start of the year was hard to handle when you want to win the world championship as much as I do.
"But after that low at Barcelona, I was able to get a strong and positive mental attitude and that's why I've won four races since then and I plan to continue."
HOW DOES LEWIS MEASURE UP?
- Most race wins
1. Michael Schumacher 91
2. Alain Prost 51
3. Lewis Hamilton 47
Most pole positions
1. Michael Schumacher 68
2. Ayrton Senna 65
3. Lewis Hamilton 55 - Most podiums
1. Michael Schumacher 155
2. Alain Prost 106
3. Fernando Alonso 97
4. Lewis Hamilton 94 - Most British GP wins
=1 Jim Clark 5
=1 Alain Prost 5
=3 Nigel Mansell 4
=3 Lewis Hamilton 4
However, Rosberg is keen to point out that he IS still leading the championship, despite being bumped down from second at Silverstone to third place after Mercedes broke a strict radio ban.
The German, who was booed on the podium following the jeers levelled at Hamilton in Austria, said: "Lewis had it in Austria where the whole crowd was booing him.
"But the majority of the British were supportive of me, so I don't want to focus on the 15-20 people who don't like me.
"That is not the right thing to do because I enjoyed the majority of people who supported me.
"I can make the choice about my season and I will take the glass half full view.
"It has been a good start to the championship and I am still leading it. I have had some good races and there are a lot of positives.
"The battle is on with Lewis and I am not counting points just yet, I am just focusing on the races because we don't know what is coming in six months' time."