Lewis Hamilton is expecting a close race on Austin track with his title rival Sebastian Vettel. He will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position with Vettel besides him at second place at 20:00 BST.
If Ferrari’s driver finishes at sixth position or lower and the Mercedes driver wins the Austin race, the latter will walk away with the title which he considers “unlikely”.
“He is going to try to win and I’m going to try the same. I expect nothing but the best from him,” said Hamilton.
The Mercedes has acquired a lead of 59-points over Ferrari due to reliability issues it has faced in Asia. But Hamilton expects a fight for title from Vettel, while he believes he will be able to retain the lead at Austin.
Hamilton added: “They were very quick, it was quite close and with more sessions he maybe had the potential to get closer.
“On the long runs they are always relatively close but I have put myself in the best position and I hope I can hold that off the start.
“Then it’s about managing tyres to make sure you hit stint lengths.
“The Ferraris are going to be quick. They always are in the race. He got a better start than me in the last race and I plan to get a better one than him.
“Every pole counts. When you are not on pole it makes the weekend little tougher. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but starting on pole gives you a different outlook at the start of the race.
“Naturally, you still have to do the job. You still have to get off the start and then manage it. I am hoping for a close race like we had in Spa – but we will see.”
Spa-Francorchamps win at Belgium was the start of Hamilton’s stronghold on the championship. But he is focused on winning the remaining four races of the season.
30-year-old four-time world champion is going to put fight for the title.
Vettel said, “I think we have better pace so we should be fine. I am looking forward to the fight, which I wasn’t allowed to do in the last one so we see what we can do.
“The car is good. We have generally a bit better race pace, but we have to show and prove it.”
