Hamilton “still not at my best, but just on the way there”

Lewis Hamilton has said that he is “still not at my best, but just on the way there,” as he prepares for what could be a tough and competitive season next year with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc has joined Ferrari from Sauber, switching with Kimi Raikkonen, after an impressive year seeing him finish thirteenth in the drivers’ standings. Verstappen scored the most points in the second half of the season behind Hamilton after winning in Mexico and finishing on the podium a few times.

Hamilton said at an event for Hewlett Packard that his goal for his last two contracted seasons with Mercedes is “to make sure Ferrari or Red Bull don’t win a championship within those two years.”

“Young Max Verstappen, who wants to steal a world championship. You’ve got Charles Leclerc now in a Ferrari who is going to want to impress next year.”

“These guys are all much younger – I’m the third-oldest driver now in F1, and I’m only 33.”

“That’s my super focus, to stay ahead of them. I’ve got the experience, this next month I’m going to sit down and figure how to be better.”

“I asked my team to send me an email from several different departments, asked them be blunt, they don’t even need to tell me who the email’s from.”