Hamilton locked in 'most intense battle' with Vettel, Ferrari

The 2018 title fight between Mercedes and Ferrari is "the most intense battle" according to Lewis Hamilton. The reigning champion is top of the drivers' championship after 11 races, but the Silver Arrows have typically given up a pace advantage to Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen this year.

Vettel crashed out from the lead at the German Grand Prix last time, opening the door for Hamilton to secure a stunning win from 14th on the grid and move 17 points clear at the top of the standings.

It is the widest advantage Hamilton has enjoyed all season, with Vettel having scored points in every race until his home-turf DNF at Hockenheim.

The Scuderia have made huge gains in the power stakes in 2018, reportedly down to an innovative electrical-harvesting technique, and Hamilton says he is feeling the pressure like rarely before.

"The smallest mistakes are even more costly so there's more pressure on that," Hamilton told reporters in Hungary.

"It's the most intense battle, we're racing a team that are faster than us this year.

"Last year we were quite balanced, some weekends they were faster than us, some weekends we were faster than them, but this year it's swinging more in their direction so we're having to overdeliver on weekends, and try to pull out more from weekends where we're not quick enough.

"The pressure to extract absolutely every millimetre or every ounce is absolutely greater than ever if I want to be number one at the end."

The crash at Hockenheim was not Vettel's sole error of 2018, following hot on the heels of a first-lap crash with Valtteri Bottas in France and a ditsy mistake in Austria qualifying, forcing Carlos Sainz off the track while on a slow lap, which earned him a grid penalty.

Although he has been relative error-free this year, Hamilton does not believe it makes him superior to his rival.

"Nobody's perfect," he said. "Under this pressure, I really work hard to position myself mentally and physically [so] that I'm the last to crack. That's really my mentality."