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

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.”

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Axed team chief open to F1 return, but only on one condition

• 15 minutes ago

Williams F1 team boss James Vowles reveals insane workload: 'I don't think this is sustainable'

• 1 hour ago

Aston Martin are only 'patching up wounds', top F1 insider taps brakes on Newey hype train

• 2 hours ago

Max Verstappen 'has lost control' claims top F1 insider as transfer market flips

• 3 hours ago

F1 News Today: Aston Martin dark web data revealed as insider drops major Alonso update

• Today 07:14

F1 insider claims plan to take cars electric aged badly but says there is a fix

• Yesterday 22:30