Hamilton on battle with Verstappen: 'The second half is going to be tough'

The Briton was asked during the press conference if he is wary of Verstappen. “I don’t feel like I’m more wary than I was at the beginning of the year", he is quoted as saying on the F1 official site.

“We knew how good [Red Bull] would be at the beginning; we've obviously seen the speed and the competitiveness of them in the past. Of course, as we've got through the season, they've got stronger and stronger and it's been harder for us as we’ve gone on, we've had a bit of a difficult patch but we got back to operating how we have done in the past."

“But it's going to be close", added Hamilton. “It's going to be tough this second half of the season. The first half was definitely one of the toughest and I expect it's going to be pretty much the same in the second half, if not more difficult.”

Difference in title race

This is not the first time Hamilton has fought for the title. In 2016, he fought against teammate Nico Rosberg. Is there a difference between fighting a teammate and fighting a driver from another team? “It's exactly the same, if I'm really honest, whether you're fighting your teammate or another team, I would say in terms of how much you need to dig", he said.

“But it's a different journey that you go on when it's internal, the journey you go on with a smaller group of people within your own team, as opposed to a whole team fighting another team. It's a much better dynamic, a much more enjoyable journey.” Hamilton is hoping to secure his fifth win at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. For Verstappen, it would be his first win at the track.