Lewis Hamilton has said he believes he will be able to thrive on the intense fight he faces with Sebastian Vettel for the Formula One world championship. Hamilton now leads the German by 17 points in the title race and Vettel has shown signs of poor judgment in key moments that have been costly.

Lewis Hamilton knows how to apply the pressure to Sebastian Vettel | Giles Richards Read more

Hamilton made a remarkable comeback drive from 14th on the grid after a hydraulic problem in qualifying to win the last round in Germany. Vettel, in contrast, saw his title lead disappear after he made a mistake at the Sachskurve that ended his race in the barriers. The lead has changed between the two drivers six times this season but, while Hamilton has endured mechanical problems and some poor strategy calls by Mercedes, Vettel has made four driver errors.

Hamilton admitted that while he found it difficult to remain at the peak of performance across a season of 21 races, he was insistent that the intensity of the battle was only spurring him on.

“The most demanding thing is arriving every single weekend 100% and I can honestly say not every weekend I have hit the nail on the head,” he said. “You have big setbacks like qualifying in the last race. It depends how strong you are, like tennis players who miss the first serve but ace the second one.

“The pressures are huge this year, the demands and desires of the drivers, myself and Sebastian, are higher than ever, and the pressure is higher than ever. That does not faze me. I am excited by it, I have always felt that under pressure is when I am at my best. I welcome the pressure.”

Hamilton is aware that Ferrari may well have the advantage this weekend at the Hungaroring, where Vettel has won two of the past three races and where Mercedes have struggled in the turbo-hybrid era, although the British driver did win here in 2016. There is little to choose between the two teams and Ferrari have the edge in terms of engine power and straight-line speed. Hamilton admitted he believed Ferrari had the advantage and that he would have to be at the top of his game.

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“This year is closer than last year, the smallest mistakes are even more costly,” he said. “It is the most intense battle, we are racing a team who are faster than us this year. Last year we were quite balanced but this year it is swinging more in their direction, so we are having to over-deliver on weekends. The pressure to extract absolutely every millimetre, every ounce is greater than ever if I want to be number one again.”

McLaren announced in Hungary that they have appointed James Key as the team’s technical director, a post he holds at Toro Rosso. The move is part of McLaren’s radical restructuring to arrest their decline. Their car design had previously been in the hands of a group of technical leaders but will now be under Key’s control. The former chief technical officer on chassis, Tim Goss, left in April.

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The sporting director, Eric Boullier, resigned this month and McLaren have also now announced that the chief engineering officer, Matt Morris, will be leaving the team.

Key has resigned from Toro Rosso but will be on gardening leave until McLaren and Red Bull come to an agreement on when the Briton is allowed to take up his new role.

The 46-year-old is highly respected in the paddock. He began his career at Jordan in 1998 and stayed with them as they became Midland, Spyker and Force India, where he became a technical director. He moved on to Sauber and then Toro Rosso in 2012.