Lewis Hamilton draws inspiration from F1 idol Ayrton Senna to deliver hammer blow in championship battle

The three-time world champion can surpass Senna's haul of titles after taking a 28-point lead over Sebastian Vettel with a surprise victory at the Singapore Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton believes he is able to learn from idol Ayrton Senna to aid his quest for a fourth world title (Getty)

As he sat savouring life in the afterglow of a stunning, unexpected victory that may have taken him one giant step closer to his fourth world championship, Lewis Hamilton spoke of how much he loves racing in the wet, and how sometimes it is as if his idol Ayrton Senna speaks with him during his toughest contests.

And few have been quite as challenging as the 10th Singapore Grand Prix, which created another little bit of history as the first night race to be run in the wet.

“When it started raining when I woke up this morning, I was thinking, ‘fantastic’, because it’s a very difficult circuit on which to overtake,” Hamilton said. “Being fifth on the grid, knowing that the Red Bulls and the Ferraris were so quick, on a grippy circuit which would probably be dry, I knew it would be very, very difficult to progress from there. But I did know there is a start, a strategy, and the potential for a safety car; that often happens here every year. It dried up but then it started to rain again just before the start, which was really a real blessing.

“The rain is very much an opportunity to make a difference with your driving in those conditions. And today [Sunday] I was really able to. It was the first time for all of us driving here in the rain, so it was a massive, massive challenge. I love that.

“When you have to rise to the toughest of challenges, that’s the most exciting part for me. It was just about staying focussed and not making any mistakes. That’s something I’m very set on this year. That’s kind of, for me, coming from last year, for example, where there were lots of mistakes. This is a year I try to make sure that, if I’m going to grow anywhere, in any space, that’s going to be it. And the focus on not making any mistakes seems to be working.”

He admitted that he feels a little bit apprehensive in such conditions, even though you wouldn’t know it from the way his driving flows.

Hamilton now leads Vettel by 28 points in the world championship (Getty)

“It’s a little bit nerve wracking, isn’t it, because it makes it so much trickier for us, and we’d never driven here in the rain. But there’s a couple of us that particularly love those conditions more than maybe others. It’s more of a lottery, there’s more opportunity, it levels the playing field. And then there’s a real race, and that’s what I was excited to have.

“It was still a massive challenge, and I could have easily just binned it. Every now and then, Senna pops into my mind… his Monaco Grand Prix in 1988 where he was in the lead and hit the wall… That always comes in and reminds me not to do that. I’ve had experiences like that, but I learnt that lesson, that always just comes in and reminds me in the back of my mind. It’s almost like he talks to me: just stay focused, keep it together.”

Vettel was involved in a first corner accident with Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen (Getty)

The remaining six races ought mainly to favour Mercedes, as Singapore was Ferrari’s best shot at total domination.

“What do we have coming up?” Hamilton pondered. “We have Malaysia… I think we should be okay there. Then we have Japan, high downforce circuit, could be close; the Red Bulls are very, very strong at that circuit. It won’t definitely be our strongest one and then we’ve got Austin and Mexico, where I think we’ll be fine. I think Brazil would be a place where these guys [Red Bull] and Ferrari will be particularly strong. Honestly, I think it’s going to be very close in the next races. It’s hard to predict, as I said, but I think that one particularly… and maybe when you go to Mexico, for example, you’ve put your maximum downforce on but because it’s so high there’s little drag and maybe the cars that have a little bit more downforce might just have the edge on us. We’ll find out when we get there.”

He of all people knows how fragile things can be in F1, after the engine failure while leading in Malaysia last year that arguably cost him the title. Assuredly he left Singapore in a far stronger position – with a 28-point lead over Sebastian Vettel - than he could ever have dared to dream of when he saw how much advantage the German had when winning his stunning pole position on the Saturday. But though the pendulum has swung his way with victories in the last three races, one of the best seasons in recent F1 history is still far from settled.