Lewis Hamilton begins the defense of his Formula 1 world championship crown, as the season begins with the Australian Grand Prix, at Albert Park in Melbourne this weekend, with his confidence in his team and himself at an all time high.
The triple F1 champion starts race one of 2016 as the man to beat, while his Mercedes team were without doubt the stars of the preseason testing, covering more mileage than any other team while keeping their powder dry by not revealing their true maximum perfromance.
Hamilton recalled, "Testing was just incredible - the best I can remember in my career. The car feels even better than last year's from both a performance and reliability perspective, which is saying something. It's all so refined in every area and we can be really proud of what we've achieved over the winter."
"I was at the factory last week and it was humbling to stand in front of everyone that has worked so hard to get us to this point. I've been with this team for four years now and, despite all the success, everyone just keeps raising the bar every season, which is super impressive.
"I know that the guys and girls will keep pushing for more top results, so it's up to us drivers to go out there and nail it for them on track. People keep asking me about motivation - but I just have to look at the faces of all those people to know what I'm fighting for."
Mercedes have dominated the sport for the past two years and all indications are that they may even merge out of the starting blocks even stronger but at the same time wary of their rivals.
"Together, we're always searching for perfection. But that target is always shifting and you're constantly faced with new challenges to reach it. Just as you think you're close, suddenly you fall further back - like someone dangling a carrot on a piece of string and whipping it away just as you reach for it," explained Hamilton.
"It's tough mentally - but that's a good thing, as it forces you to be resilient and seek improvement in every area. I know there's still more to come from me - I think I've shown that in the past two years. There certainly needs to be some extra in my tank, as the competition will be stronger than ever this year."
New rules have been introduced for the new season, and the Briton acknowledged, "There are a few things that will make it even more challenging for all of us this season, too. The changes to the radio rules will have a big impact."
"The engineers now can't give you prompts or reminders that might affect performance during the race, so you have to remember so much more. This even applies to strategy, so when it's shifting throughout the race you won't be in the loop. It will be tough - but hopefully it will make for more exciting races."
"Now we head to Melbourne and the first to chance to see how all this plays out on track. I can't wait to get started," concluded the reigning world champion.
Hamilton starts his tenth season in F1, having won 43 times in 167 starts and finished on the podium 87 times. He will be looking to end this season as only the fifth driver in history to have won the title four or more times.
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