SUZUKA, Japan -- Lewis Hamilton hoped this year's title fight would go down to the final race of the season after relishing his head-to-head battle with Sebastian Vettel in 2018.
Hamilton took a fourth consecutive victory at last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix and has all but put the championship beyond Vettel's reach, with the British driver able to claim the title if he leads a Mercedes one-two at the U.S. Grand Prix later this month.
Hamilton's championship lead has been significantly bolstered at the last three races after Mercedes started to outperform Ferrari from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards.