Hamilton still upbeat on title chances

His pitlane crash in Montreal and his penalties at the French Grand Prix have seen him slip from leading the title chase down to fourth in the points standings.

But despite the loss of momentum in his season, Hamilton is upbeat about his prospects ahead of his home race at Silverstone this weekend.

"I think that this year's title race is really close - probably even closer than last year's," he said in an interview with the official Formula One website. "And there's no sign that it's getting any easier.

"There isn't one driver who's comfortably ahead; I've had a few no-scores but so also have the two Ferrari drivers. I think consistency is going to be important as we head into the second half of the season, but I'm only 10 points behind Massa and the maths is clear: you can make that up in a single race if all the cards fall in the right way."

Hamilton says that Raikkonen's comeback last year to clinch the title in the final race of the year has shown that drivers should keep pushing until the end.

"Kimi was 17 points behind with two races to go last year. The fact that he not only came back but also won the title tells you a lot about how unpredictable this sport can be. You can never take anything for granted. And that's why I'm still confident and focused. We've got 10 races remaining, 100 points - it's all to play for; and I'm ready for it."

Hamilton topped the times on the final day of testing at Silverstone last week and thinks that the race will be a tight battle between his team and Ferrari.

"We're always bringing new parts to the test and Silverstone was no different. Heikki was in the car for two days and I only jumped in for the final day, but I got to try out some promising new aero upgrades and some improvements to the fuel and lubricants.

"They're only little things, but that's where you can make a difference. Ferrari will be strong, but not unbeatable. We've got a great package, we've worked hard on performance in high-speed corners and I'm confident ahead of the race."