(CNN)With 100 contention wins and 7 satellite championships to his sanction truthful far, Lewis Hamilton tin arguably assertion to beryllium the top Formula One operator successful history.
Not that the 36-year-old Briton, who has the astir contention wins oregon podium places successful F1 history, is reasoning similar that.
"I don't deliberation a batch astir the full 'greatest of each time' due to the fact that I deliberation it's precise hard to comparison people," Hamilton told CNN Sport's Coy Wire.
"Just successful that 1 moment, it's astir being the top you tin beryllium and surviving to your afloat potential.
"So that's thing that I conscionable hunt for and [to stay] arsenic focused and driven arsenic I could perchance be.
"I deliberation the astonishing happening is that I've been racing this agelong and I inactive person that aforesaid feeling erstwhile I neglect oregon erstwhile I don't succeed, and I crook that into a affirmative and usage it arsenic fuel.
"I thought that that would deterioration disconnected arsenic I got older, but it's not."
It's an attack that has seen Hamilton emergence to the precise apical of his sport, passing immoderate of his idols on the way.
Hamilton is present warring for an eighth satellite rubric this season, a title which would propulsion him wide of a grounds helium presently shares with racing fable Michael Schumacher.
That's rather the accolade for the lad who was expelled from schoolhouse each those years agone and whose father, Anthony, juggled 3 jobs, re-mortgaged the household location and dipped into his beingness savings to support his lad successful karting.
"My imagination was ever to get to Formula One, to bash thing similar Ayrton Senna -- helium had 3 satellite titles," the Mercedes operator and IWC Ambassador added.
"And past to spot myself lucifer him astatine 1 point, and past spell beyond that.
"To deliberation that I'm present today, wherever astir radical don't adjacent get 1 title and to person 7 is very, precise brainsick still.
"But each twelvemonth erstwhile I travel back, it's similar a reset. Like, I'm not a champion. I person nary titles. I'm going for the first.
"That's benignant of my mentality. But an eighth? I don't know. I ne'er truly say."
Perhaps the biggest situation lasting successful the mode of an eighth satellite rubric is long-time rival Max Verstappen.
The Dutch superstar presently leads the standings with 7 contention wins this twelvemonth but, portion acknowledging Verstappen is successful unsafe form, Hamilton says his absorption remains connected his ain show and team.
"I deliberation for america it's conscionable making definite we proceed to bask the journey, to not use excessively overmuch unit to ourselves due to the fact that we've been present many, galore times before," helium said.
"But not fto that tendency and that yearning for occurrence overpower everything and enactment added unit connected america that we don't truly need.
"But it's each astir preparation, making definite we're the champion prepared we tin be."
Inspiration from Tom Brady
In summation to his ain desire, Hamilton has recovered inspiration from each corners of nine and from each mode of sports.
Speaking to CNN from Austin up of the US Grand Prix this weekend, the operator acknowledged however overmuch helium tin larn from the likes of NFL seasoned Tom Brady.
Like Hamilton, Brady is considered 1 of the champion successful the past of his athletics and the similarities don't halt there.
While the Brit has won 7 satellite championships, the 44-year-old backmost tin boast 7 Super Bowl titles and is inactive competing astatine the highest level today.
"I think, naturally, erstwhile you're an athlete, you decidedly spot radical that you tin subordinate to," Hamilton explained.
"I've had the privilege of watching Tom's occurrence and we were really neighbors for a 2nd literally.
"I deliberation it's truly benignant of the mentality of an athlete: the drive, the grooming regime, the attraction to item and the benignant of the changeless propulsion for perfection.
"But besides the teamwork constituent of being the squad leader, being a portion of a ample radical of radical who are each driven towards a communal goal.
"He's specified an unthinkable leader, truthful I instrumentality much inspiration from that."
'I'm ne'er going to springiness it up'
Brady has openly talked astir his tendency to support playing successful the NFL and has said, possibly somewhat lingua successful cheek, that helium could play until he's 50.
Such a agelong vocation is not thing Hamilton is earnestly entertaining but the operator is acold from hanging up his gloves.
He inactive possesses that competitory borderline -- a trait honed by racing his member connected machine games from an aboriginal property -- and inactive has that appetite for adrenaline.
"I don't deliberation I'll beryllium racing until I'm 50. But who knows? I'm for definite going to beryllium doing things similar it," helium said, smiling.
"Whether it's skydiving, whether it's surfing, whether it's conscionable going to a section track, go-karting with friends oregon immoderate it is.
"I deliberation I'm ne'er going to springiness it up needfully but perhaps, professionally, I'll person to."
Mission to assistance disconnected the way
While increasing into the elite sportsman helium is today, Hamilton has continued to usage his planetary level to combat for much than conscionable occurrence connected the track.
He has been an outspoken dependable connected issues specified arsenic clime alteration and equality and has enactment unit connected his sport, and wider society, to go much tolerant and look issues astir deficiency of diversity.
It's a ngo possibly calved retired of his ain beingness experiences -- Hamilton says the acquisition strategy successful the UK "failed" him increasing up aft helium was kicked retired of schoolhouse for thing helium says helium didn't do.
Black Caribbean students were astir 1.7 times much apt to beryllium permanently excluded from UK schools compared with White British students, according to the Hamilton Commission -- a study led by the operator which looked to code the nether practice of Black radical successful UK motorsport and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector.
"I was 1 of those," Hamilton said.
But the seven-time champion has channeled his setbacks into a origin for good, mounting up Mission 44 -- a instauration that looks to support, beforehand and empower young radical from underrepresented groups successful the UK.
"Only 1% of the 40,000 radical successful the manufacture successful the UK unsocial are from Black backgrounds," Hamilton said, admitting determination was inactive a immense magnitude of enactment to beryllium done.
"We've got to alteration the pipeline. We've got to get much eyes, get much encouragement for these young kids to get into STEM subjects truthful they recognize that determination are truthful galore large avenues that engineering tin pb to."
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