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F1: Hamilton targeting Fangio's title tally, not Schumacher's

Lewis Hamilton reiterates his belief Michael Schumacher's tally of seven world titles is out of reach, instead setting his sights on Juan Manuel Fangio.

Lewis Hamilton remains uncertain he will be able to match Michael Schumacher's tally of seven Formula 1 titles before the end of his career, instead setting his sights on a fifth championship in the coming years to match Juan Manuel Fangio.

Hamilton clinched his fourth F1 drivers' title in Mexico earlier this year, and was officially crowned at the FIA Prize Giving in Paris on Friday night, receiving the world championship trophy.

Having already broken the record for pole positions in F1 and claimed three of the last four titles, Hamilton is being tipped as the most likely driver to surpass Schumacher's all-time record of seven drivers' titles - but the Mercedes driver is doubtful.

"I can't see it at the moment. Four more? It's taken me 10 years to achieve these four..." Hamilton said during a press conference attended by select media including Crash.net on Friday.

"I don't know - I still don't currently have that desire to match it. Matching Fangio could be quite cool, and being that I'm going to be here for at least another couple of years, that's my goal, to at least try to get that."

However, Hamilton stressed he will not measure his career by statistics and records when he does ultimately retire.

"I don't think the amount of titles that I have, when I'm older and I look back," Hamilton said.

"I don't think that's really going to define who I am as a driver.

"I think how I've worked with the team, how I've driven the car, how every time I drive a car I extract [performance].

"That for me is what I feel inside defines me."

Zdroj: crash.net