Hamilton says 2018 title his best

Lewis Hamilton placed his fifth Formula 1 world drivers' title above the four that came before it, claiming his performances in 2018 outstripped any previous season after moving level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio at the Mexican Grand Prix.

A fourth-place finish was enough for Hamilton to wrap up consecutive title triumphs at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Hamilton has arguably been pushed this year like never before in the V6 Hybrid era, with Ferrari producing the quicker car for large stretches of the season.

And the freshly minted champion was in little mood to play down his achievements.

"Right now I just feel very, very humbled by the whole experience," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"Honestly it's very, very hard to realise it at the moment. It's something that, of course, I dreamed of but I never in a million years thought I would be standing here today a five-time world champion.

#HiFive ? pic.twitter.com/IloS5txxC8 — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) October 28, 2018

"It's definitely the best year.

"Ultimately it was the goal - I won the championship last year, I was like 'How am I going to improve? How can I be fitter? How can I be more focused? How can I manage my time better? How can I just be a better all-round driver?'

"Not just [better] in the car, but also my team in the garage, with the engineers at the factory.

"I think just this year I've been able to lift them all up and I don't know if that's something that comes with age but I'm sure the experience helps.

"I honestly feel like I've performed my best this year, so I'm very, very happy with how it's gone."

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