Hamilton working 'twice as hard' to beat 'fierce' young drivers

Lewis Hamilton says he is having to work "twice as hard" in order to get the better of the younger generation that is currently competing in F1.

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, both 22 years of age, are tied to Ferrari and Red Bull respectively, and both endured a positive 2019 season, winning five races between them.

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Hamilton contended against both of them for race wins throughout 2019, admitting that the young talent has been getting "fiercer" in recent years.

"It's been relatively consistent in 2019, but there were some ups and downs," Hamilton said of his season, speaking to GQ Hype. "We always want to be able to pull more out of qualifying, in particular, understand the tyres a bit better, extract more from the technology.

"And all these young kids are coming up and getting fiercer and fiercer. So you've got to work twice as hard.

"I love what I do. You're constantly being challenged. I'd won the championship [with two rounds to spare] and I was already in touch with Bono to make notes on things we could improve on."

Hamilton feels 'fitter than ever'

Hamilton will be the second oldest driver on the 2020 grid, behind only Kimi Raikkonen, who will be 41 by the end of the year. 

Hamilton, who is 35, affirms that he feels fitter than ever before, but admits that he expects his physical condition to amble off as time goes on.

"I need to start paying Kimi to stay so I'm not the oldest," the six-time world champion joked. "Luckily, I think he's going to keep going.

"I don't feel old at all. I feel as young as ever. I feel fit, fitter than ever. Everything just works better now, with the experience I have.

"I don't even think it's harder to stay physically in shape, although I'm sure that will inevitably tail off at some point."