Lewis Hamilton 'much prouder' of equality push than potential seventh F1 world title

Lewis Hamilton says he is “much prouder” of the work he has done to promote equality this year than the prospect of winning a seventh title.

Hamilton can match Michael Schumacher’s F1 record of seven titles this weekend at the Turkish GP if he avoids being outscored by Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by eight points.

Hamilton said: “The drivers’ title doesn’t necessarily impact people’s lives. Trying to improve conditions for people around the world – equal human rights – that’s the most important thing to me.”

However, Hamilton said he had not thought about the prospect of a seventh title, and was “just focused on trying to do a good job, just taking it one race at a time, trying to do the best we can as a team, not thinking about anything else”.

He added: “I have learned not to add pressure that’s unnecessary. I have four races to battle for those points so I don’t put it all onto one weekend, one day.

“For me it is another race, I need to approach it exactly as I have in the past.

“Maybe then that’s why sometimes it’s a shock. All of a sudden it hits you because you have not thought about it much and you don’t know what to say, because you never truly know whether it is going to happen.

“I am not focused on the ‘what if?’ I am focused on preparing myself the same as before to try to deliver the way I have all season.”