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LONDON - Lewis Hamilton has made clear how much he wants to return to the top, five years after his sole title.
Hamilton said: "We all want to be the one. I was the one for a short time. Now it's toppled over to Sebastian. But I want to be at the forefront. People see seven-times champion Michael Schumacher as a god and that's where I want to be."
On his path to becoming an all-knowing F1 god, Hamilton has singled out Ferrari's Fernando Alonso as the rival the Mercedes driver wants to beat more than any other man on the Formula 1 grid.
The 2008 World champion sees the Spaniard as the fastest on the grid and the one he wants to be judged against.
'FERNANDO EXCITES ME MORE'
A duel with compatriot Jenson Button, 2009 champion and Hamilton's team mate for the past three years at McLaren, did not really excite him. "The rivalry between me and Fernando excites me more," he said. "He's the guy I want to beat. You also want to beat (Red Bull's triple champion) Sebastian Vettel as they are the ones with the most titles but Alonso's the fastest driver I can see.
"He's also one of the most experienced. Anyone would struggle to beat him. Trying to finish ahead of Alonso in a Ferrari that is actually really competitive is a really nice challenge. And I do think the Ferrari is going to be quick this year.”
Alonso was overall runner-up in 2012 in a Ferrari that started the season well off the pace. He lost the silverware to Vettel by three points.
Hamilton - whose Mercedes may not be competitive enough to challenge for the 2013 championship - is the only team mate to have beaten Alonso, the 2005 and 2006 champion with Renault, over the course of a season. They finished level on points with four wins each at the end of 2007 but Hamilton was the overall runner-up to Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, who scored one point more, due to his having more second places.
Their time together lasted only one bad-tempered season, with Alonso returning to Renault and then joining Ferrari, but any animosity between the two has long-since ceased.
Button scored more points than Hamilton over their time together as team mates.
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2013 Formula 1 season – fresh reports every day.
Hamilton said: "We all want to be the one. I was the one for a short time. Now it's toppled over to Sebastian. But I want to be at the forefront. People see seven-times champion Michael Schumacher as a god and that's where I want to be."
On his path to becoming an all-knowing F1 god, Hamilton has singled out Ferrari's Fernando Alonso as the rival the Mercedes driver wants to beat more than any other man on the Formula 1 grid.
The 2008 World champion sees the Spaniard as the fastest on the grid and the one he wants to be judged against.
'FERNANDO EXCITES ME MORE'
A duel with compatriot Jenson Button, 2009 champion and Hamilton's team mate for the past three years at McLaren, did not really excite him. "The rivalry between me and Fernando excites me more," he said. "He's the guy I want to beat. You also want to beat (Red Bull's triple champion) Sebastian Vettel as they are the ones with the most titles but Alonso's the fastest driver I can see.
"He's also one of the most experienced. Anyone would struggle to beat him. Trying to finish ahead of Alonso in a Ferrari that is actually really competitive is a really nice challenge. And I do think the Ferrari is going to be quick this year.”
Alonso was overall runner-up in 2012 in a Ferrari that started the season well off the pace. He lost the silverware to Vettel by three points.
Hamilton - whose Mercedes may not be competitive enough to challenge for the 2013 championship - is the only team mate to have beaten Alonso, the 2005 and 2006 champion with Renault, over the course of a season. They finished level on points with four wins each at the end of 2007 but Hamilton was the overall runner-up to Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, who scored one point more, due to his having more second places.
Their time together lasted only one bad-tempered season, with Alonso returning to Renault and then joining Ferrari, but any animosity between the two has long-since ceased.
Button scored more points than Hamilton over their time together as team mates.
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2013 Formula 1 season – fresh reports every day.