Hamilton 'so excited' for season to start

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he is "so excited" for the upcoming 2018 Formula One season and, although he has mentioned many times he does not see himself competing for many more years, this campaign "doesn’t feel like the start of the final chapter."

Hamilton is the current world champion and is going for his fifth title which would put him ahead of rival Sebastian Vettel and on par with Juan Manuel Fangio, and if his latest comments are anything to go by, the thirst for success is still there.

“It doesn’t feel like the start of the final chapter, and I don’t feel as though I am about to embark on my last contract,” Hamilton said.

“I am not sure how I will feel in two or three years’ time but I am back here in March for my 12th season and I am so excited.

“I don’t know where it comes from – this feeling of just wanting to excel – but I really, really, more than anything currently in my life, want to excel next weekend.

Next stop, ????????! @LewisHamilton has some last words before heading off to the #AusGP! #DrivenByEachOther @F1 pic.twitter.com/sGKRZCf5U1 — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 12, 2018

“I want to arrive in Melbourne fit. I want to hit my target weight. I want to kill it through practice, get pole position and I want to win the race convincingly.

“I don’t know how long this feeling is going to last when I go into a new season, but as long as I am still feeling like this I will keep going.”

On Christmas Day, Hamilton received an online backlash after posting a video of himself criticising his nephew for wearing a girl's dress, with the situation leading to the deletion of his social media profiles.

Hamilton has admitted that he is "not perfect" and that he is working hard to portray his brand in a better light.

“Everyone has an opinion about everything,” the Brit continued “The world is moving drastically and no-one is perfect.

“We have a pie chart of our brand, what it means and we are constantly evolving that.

“I am working with my team to figure out how we get our message across of where we have come from. For example, what we have done as a working-class family is very different to a story of another racing driver.”