Lewis Hamilton is refusing to accept that his world championship defence is doomed, telling fans he will dig deeper than ever before to win a record eighth world title. Mercedes held their post-race debrief on Monday and the mood was said to be positive. Hamilton, who finished 16.5sec behind Verstappen, said: ‘We pick ourselves up, dig deeper than we have done before and keep on fighting.’. There remain 107 points on offer with four races to come, starting in Sao Paulo on Sunday. On paper, the Interlagos circuit suits Red Bull, but the sprint race on Saturday has the potential to disturb the expected order. There are four races to go, four wins to take, four DNFs to suffer and we continue fighting.

Follow MotorMouth on social media:

• 
• 
• 
•