Lewis Hamilton is re🍨fusing to take ꦯhis healthy championship lead for granted, insisting he does not feel he has one hand already on the 2018 Formula 1 title.

Hamilton extended his advantage over chief title rival Seb🐷astian Vettel thanks to victory last time out in Singapore, which saw him move 40 🐠points clear with 150 up for grabs in the remaining six races of the season.

But spe🦩aking ahead of this weekend's Russian Grand Prix, the Briton dismissed suggestions the final destination of this year’s drivers’ championship is already a foregone conclusion and said he will keep focused in his bid to beღat Vettel to a fifth world title.

"I don't think you ever have one hand on itꦕ," Hamilton replied when asked if he felt he has one hand on the 2018 drivers’ title.

"Y♍ou either have both hands on it, or you don't. Same as the last race, just taking it one race at a time, 🌄there's still a long way to go, a lot of points available.

"Six 🌠races are still a lot of races, it's a long seasoജn. We're really just head down, everyone's working incredibly hard to continue to improve the car.

"We're going to be faced with different challenges as we come to these diffe🎉rent races, so the job is still exactly the same. The target is still exactly the same and the approach is still exactly the same."

Hamilton, who said in Singapore he is already pushing M♛ercedes to brin🎃g forward 2019 developments to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, stressed he continues to push his engineers for improvements and reckons the German manufacturer is better positioned heading into this year’s race in Sochi compared to 2017.

"I'm a pain in the ass to my engineers upstairs. I'm always challenging, challenging, challenging. Even if I'm wrong, still questio𝐆ning, questioning, questioning,” he explained.

"Some of that, I like to think, has had a positive impact... to🍌 spring an idea or a direction in which we've pushed the car and our understanding, for example of the tyres.

"I reall💯y do believe this weekend we'll be in a better position than we were here last year. Our understanding of the tyres is far greater than it was when we arrived here last yeaꦜr.

"It's still a challenge to get right. So, we will take our understanding from last year and that experience with a pinch of salt because the car is different, it's improved, and we've got differe♒nt tyre this weekend."