Gleeful Lewis Hamilton out with Rita Ora after clinching third Silverstone victory in a row at the British Grand Prix
Brit ace reveals he has the winning feeling as he parties with Anthony Joshua and brother after crowdsurfing celebrations
LEWIS HAMILTON declared he has that winning feeling again after enjoying the best week of the year.
Sunday’s British Grand Prix victory cut the gap to just one point on Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the race for the drivers’ title.
That came after Hamilton warmed up for Silverstone splashing around with pop babe Rita Ora.
He spent Sunday night partying in London with the former X Factor judge and it is clear to see the 31-year-old is loving his life both on and off the track.
Hamilton 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 now 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, 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 trailed Rosberg by 43 points.
Since the pair crashed out in Barcelona, Hamilton has won in Monaco, Montreal, Austria and now Silverstone missing out only in Azerbaijan.
And the mechanical woes, stewards’ decisions and bad luck that dogged him early-season seem a distant memory at the halfway stage of the season.
He added: “That rough patch 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.”
Rosberg finished second in Sunday’s race but was dumped down to third thanks to a ten-second time penalty after Mercedes broke a strict radio ban.
That effectively cost the German three points and Red Bull boss Christian Horner fears the pathetic penalty will not stop teams doing the same.
Rosberg received technical help over the radio to resolve a gearbox problem.
New rules this season forbid teams from passing information on how to boost performance via radios.
Mercedes last night decided not to launch an official appeal against Rosberg’s punishment.
And Red Bull boss Horner says the trivial punishment allows teams to consider breaking the rules for tactical reasons in the future.
He said: “There will be loads of messages that will take into account whether it is worth a time penalty.
“The FIA made it very, very clear what their expectations were but I think the rule is rubbish.”
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