After dominating at Suzuka and taking his eighth victory of the season on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton admitted he was ‘buzzing’ and was thinking about the experiences he has been through to get him to where he is today.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver knew he had to get a good start to be in with a chance of taking victory from his pole-sitting team-mate Nico Rosberg, and although he admitted the overtake at turn two was ‘tight’, he knew he had the race in his pocket once he had completed the pass.
“I’m buzzing like you could not believe,” said Hamilton afterwards as he extended his championship lead to forty-eight points from Rosberg.
“As I’m walking through after the race I’ve got this rush but I’m thinking about all the different experiences I’ve been through and the people that have helped me along the way.
“As I arrived today, I knew Nico had done a great job in qualifying and I needed to get a good start. It was very tight through Turn One but from then on it was just the most beautiful day. I have struggled every year at this circuit, but I always loved it.
“When you have the balance and the car is doing what you want it to do, and you’re attacking through the corners, there’s no better feeling. The engineers and everyone in the garage did a great job.
“We didn’t have much data to go through after practice, but the car felt unbelievable. I am really grateful to the team because without them I wouldn’t be here. I also want to thank my fans who have supported me all this way, and still we rise.”