Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes BAN talk of winning Drivers and Constructors’ Championship titles
Brackley-based team are tight-lipped about doing the double as they do not want to disrupt the team's preparations for the final four races
LEWIS HAMILTON and his Mercedes bosses will BAN talk about winning both the Drivers and Constructors' championship titles.
The Brackley-based team are remaining tight-lipped about doing the double as they do not want to disrupt the team's preparations for the final four races this season.
Hamilton can win the title at the US GP in under two weeks' time if he wins the race and Sebastian Vettel is outside the top five.
And Mercedes will win the teams' championship if both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finish inside the top four in Austin.
However, Merc chiefs are concerned about a Ferrari fight back, especially in Mexico, and Hamilton says he is not yet thinking about winning his fourth crown.
He said: "There's not really any need for me to change the approach. The points are still what you go out there to achieve, but also you try and look after your car.
"I just don't think there's any need to make any changes. I'm not really particularly taking crazy risks in order to be in the position I'm in.
"We're just going to try and continue to do what we're doing. Of course, we want to try and look after the car and the engine.
"But I'm already doing that throughout the races so there's not really much more I can do.
"And if sometimes you come off the gas a little bit you actually cause yourself more trouble than you need.
Most read in F1
"There's still a long way to go. One hundred points is a lot of points. Anything can happen in life."
Hamilton has a 59-point lead over Vettel yet his cautious approach is also supported by Merc's Head of Motorsport, Toto Wolff, who says Red Bull are also in with a shout of winning races.
He added: "Red Bull have made a big step, and it's good to see that all three teams are really fighting for wins there.
"To date, it has swung in our direction but going forward I think this is the new reality. Three teams that can play for race wins and championships.
"If four races ago I would have told you that Sebastian is going to DNF two times and not score well one time, you would have said it's almost impossible.
"This is motor racing, you have a DNF or two and suddenly the whole thing swings the other way around, so let's count the chickens when they hatch!"
Wolff says he has sympathy for his opposite number at Ferrari, Maurizio Arrivabene, who risks being sacked by Fiats's CEO Sergio Marchionne for the team's poor results.
He said: "I remember when Nico Rosberg broke down in Singapore in 2014 which meant a big blow for his championship, so we can relate to the Ferrari guys who will feel awful at the moment.
"We get on with them very well and Maurizio and we know it is not a situation they want to be in.
"Maybe it is a development stall of the team having made a huge step forward from the end of 2016 into 2017.
"There are is super-fast but just lacks reliability which would be the next steps."
Instead of joining the rest of drivers on the grid, he stayed with his stricken car while his engineers tried to fix his faulty spark plug.
Vettel now has two reprimands after he was warned about crossing the pit lane during qualifying in Monaco.
And a third strike would see him hit with a 10-place grid penalty.
