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Hamilton: I've had a target on my back since I was 10 years old

Photo: © LAT Images

Hamilton: I've had a target on my back since I was 10 years old

The world champion relishes the pressure of being No. 1

Lewis Hamilton says that the target on his back is nothing new, with the Mercedes driver heading into the 2020 season trying to equal Michael Schumacher's haul of seven world titles.

Hamilton is second in the all-time win statistics in Formula One, trailing Schumacher by seven, and the Mercedes driver is unphased by the pressure of matching up to the great German driver.

“I've had a target on my back since the day I won my first championship when I was 10 years old so it's nothing new to me,” Hamilton told Formula1.com.

“I've always been the only black driver there, I've always been generally at the front of the championships, so it's no different to any of the other 27 years of driving – so I'm quite comfortable in that space.”

Max Verstappen has publicly made clear his ambition to beat Hamilton, saying, "Maybe God is with him, but he is not God."

Hamilton says that he sees this kind of competition as a motivation to keep his standards high, adding, “It's also a positive when people are targeting you and looking to try and beat you because you want everyone to bring their ‘A-Game’.

"So if we do manage to pull it off and finish ahead, it feels even better.”

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