Hamilton says heart has led his surge to top of championship

Lewis Hamilton attributes his surge to the top of the Formula One drivers world championship to an increased level of “heart and passion” since winning the British Grand Prix in July.The 32-year-old Briton, whose victory in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix lifted him three points clear of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, has won three of the last four races to become leader for the first time this year.As Ferrari retreated from their home race to lick their wounds after being outclassed by a Mercedes master-class that saw Valtteri Bottas finish second, Hamilton admitted he felt he now has the momentum.“To come through these last races – they’ve been real solid races – I think I’ve felt more heart and passion within myself,” said Hamilton, who claimed a record-breaking 69th career pole on Saturday and then his 59th win on Sunday.“I’ve found more in the last three or four races. I think Silverstone was a real empowering weekend and from then it’s sparked a forest fire within me – and that’s hopefully reflected in my driving and the way I’m working with my guys.“To be leading, whilst it’s only a couple of points, I’m grateful for it. By no means do I feel comfortable and I will apply myself the same that I have these past three or four races. Earlier on in the year, it was obviously 20 points gap, or whatever, between myself and him, so now I’m going to see if we can have that feeling for a while.”He added that his success had come after a “real constant search and battle for perfection, which is what’s been needed to overhaul the Ferraris because they’ve been exceptional all year long.”He added that he had felt recharged and ready after the European summer break in August.“I timed it just perfectly where I came off and made sure I recharged the batteries and that’s what they are, they’re fully charged and ready to go!‘Drive with my heart’ “It’s like an ERS pack. Towards the end of the season, you’re running on the low end of the battery pack, whereas I’m operating at the top end now and it’s a good feeling.“Whilst I feel I always drive with my heart, my heart is the engine and the power and the force behind what I do... My mind is really like the rudder and I feel like it’s really steering me in the right direction in terms of how I prepared.”As Hamilton celebrated his and Mercedes’ supremacy by skateboarding in Monte Carlo, four-time champion Vettel attempted to put on a brave face after a disappointing result in front of a record 93,000 impassioned tifosi. His boss, Ferrari chief executive Sergio Marchionne, described the performance gap between Mercedes and his team as ‘embarrassing’, acknowledging the pain felt when Daniel Ricciardo, who started 16th on the grid, overtook Kimi Raikkonen to take fourth place. “Emotions run high and when you have a bad day you can’t hide it, so I can understand his feelings,” said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff. “For me it looks like Ferrari have taken a step back this weekend. I think we were very solid, but they have not performed in the way everybody expected.”Mercedes know that their glorious end to the European season may not signal they have truly regained the momentum and expect a Ferrari fight-back in Singapore, the first of three upcoming races in Asia.“To be leading the championship – whilst it is only a couple of points – I am grateful, but by no means do I feel comfortable,” added Hamilton, who is scheduled to take part in a tyres-testing day at Le Castellet in the south of France on Thursday.“But I want to stay here...”McLaren hoping to secure Renault powerThe McLaren team were still hoping to secure a supply of Renault engines next year as part of a complex web of deals that would keep Honda in Formula One. The team’s French racing director Eric Boullier told reporters following Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix that McLaren, frustrated by three years of disappointment with Honda, were trying to keep the Japanese manufacturer in the sport. “It is complicated because you want to do the best for F1 as well – it is not only about McLaren. “Whatever will happen – and it is a good collaborative work with all the parties in the paddock – we all try to make the best of the situation, but I will not comment more than this.” It has been an unconfirmed open secret in the F1 paddock that McLaren is seeking to switch from Honda engines to another supplier. Many observers believe that McLaren is hoping to land a Renault supply and move Honda to Toro Rosso, currently running with Renault power, but after several meetings in the Monza paddock no announcement was forthcoming at the weekend.Meanwhile the Ferrari Formula One team and tobacco company Philip Morris International announced the renewal of one of the longest-running and least obvious sponsorships in sport. A Ferrari statement gave no details about the amount or time frame of the deal. The partnership has been running for more than 40 years, surviving a ban on visible cigarette advertising that led other teams to kick the lucrative habit and look for revenues elsewhere. Philip Morris’s Marlboro brand was last seen on Ferrari’s grand prix cars in 2007. The team race in a predominantly red and white livery, the same as Marlboro’s traditional branding although the Italian sportscar manufacturer has always been associated with the colour red. Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene previously worked for Philip Morris International while Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne is on the tobacco company’s board of directors.The European Union’s health commissioner asked Ferrari back in 2007 to end tobacco sponsorship of the team, saying it undermined the goal to end cigarette advertising at sporting events. In 2010 a “bar code” livery was removed from the Ferrari cars after complaints that it represented subliminal advertising for Marlboro. Ferrari said it did so to end speculation and had never intended the code to be associated with the brand.