Hamilton says Mercedes will have earned F1 title

Lewis Hamilton said Thursday that another Formula One championship would be one earned by him and Mercedes not one thrown away by Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel won the first two races of 2018 to set up what promised to be a dramatic chase for a fifth career championship between him and Hamilton. Now Hamilton's dominant second half of the season, helped by a rash of mistakes by Vettel and Ferrari, has the Mercedes driver set to win the crown even if he finishes as low as seventh Sunday.

"I see a lot of people write a lot of stories saying things have been 'handed'" to Mercedes this season, Hamilton said.

"That naturally takes away from the job the team and I have done."
"He's been a great competitor this year. It's been so hot for both of us. I look forward to many more years of us racing together right at the top."
"Obviously we have seen some mistakes. Probably at the end he was just desperate, trying to achieve what was probably not possible, but he's a four-time world champion."