Lewis Hamilton insists he isn’t fussed about having to wait at least one more race to wrap up a sixth F1 title win.
The Mercedes driver started Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix in third but manfully battled through to the front of the pack.
Hamilton successfully held off the challenge of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to take the maximum 25 points at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Despite the 34-year-old Brit’s win, team-mate Valtteri Bottas’ third-place finish meant his margin of victory wasn’t enough to claim a sixth World Drivers’ Championship.
Hamilton says, though, that he is happy to bide his time as he looks to close the gap on F1’s most-successful driver ever, Michael Schumacher.
“I don’t mind [not taking the title in Mexico],” Hamilton says. “I love racing and I take it one race at a time.”
Hamilton’s win and Bottas’ podium finish came after Mercedes had expected to be in for a difficult weekend.
Hamilton admits the victory in Mexico City wasn’t the simplest of his 13-season F1 career.
“We came here thinking we were on the back foot, knowing it was a difficult race for us but we pulled through,” says Hamilton.
“I had quite a bit of damage on my car so the race was quite a bit of a struggle.”
Bottas now has to win at next week’s United States Grand Prix in Austin with a fastest lap to stay in the mathematical reckoning for the World Drivers’ Championship.
Hamilton, meanwhile, need score only four points – an eighth-place finish – to be sure of the title whatever his Mercedes team-mate does.
Hamilton has Schumacher’s record of seven F1 titles in his sights having last year drawn level with Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.