Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has another gear to hit this season and will be “almost impossible to beat”, says former world champion Damon Hill.
Hamilton won his fourth consecutive race of the season in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix to take the championship lead from team-mate Nico Rosberg.
“Up until this season, it always looked like Lewis’s focus could go at any time,” said Hill, 53.
“He now seems to have the demeanour of someone who is totally content.”
London-born Hill, who won the world title in 1996, added: “I do wonder if he is just cruising. I think he has another gear.
“He is so focused on the job, I think he will be almost impossible to beat.”
Hamilton’s season started badly when the 29-year-old retired from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix with an engine issue, with Rosberg, 28, going on to take victory.
But Hamilton bounced back with an impressive win in Malaysia and then held off a fast-charging Rosberg to take a thrilling victory in Bahrain.
A third triumph followed in China and then in Spain, despite being beaten by Rosberg in the sessions leading up to qualifying, Hamilton delivered when it mattered – taking pole and absorbing pressure from Rosberg to take his fourth win in five.
Hill added: “Nico had two opportunities to beat Lewis – in Bahrain and Spain – but he let them slip through his fingers and that might already be too much to recover from.”
British Racing Drivers’ Club president and former British F1 driver Derek Warwick, 59, agreed with Hill that there is more to come from Hamilton this season.
“I think there is another gear,” Warwick told BBC Sport. “And I think you’ll see it at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in July, in front of his home fans.
“Great drivers find a level and are able to raise their game to reach it. Just think of Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and now Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.”
After beating Rosberg to victory in Bahrain and Spain, Hamilton said the German was faster, but that led former team-mate Jenson Button to suggest “there are mind games going on”.
Warwick agreed: “Of course it’s mind games. Drivers are competitive animals. The first thing you do is try to get into the mind of your team-mate without falling out.”
The next race of the season takes place in Monaco between 22-25 May.
