Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has taken his tally of Formula One wins to 90 and the brink of Michael Schumacher's record, but he feels like he has just done three in a day.
The Briton's latest victory - at a Tuscan Grand Prix that was twice red-flagged and re-started - has left him one shy of the Ferrari great - a record once held up as a milestone to withstand the test of time.
"Hectic," says the 35-year-old Mercedes driver, when asked to sum up his afternoon at Ferrari-owned Mugello in central Italy. "Such a rollercoaster ride, emotionally and physically.
"It was all a bit of a daze - it was like three races in one day."
Hamilton has won six races out of nine this season and with a seventh title looking inevitable, the year has become a countdown to two of the greatest records in the sport - both owned by Schumacher.
With eight races remaining, Hamilton will conceivably win at least one more, after averaging 10 a season for the past six years now.
Schumacher, who has been out of the public eye since suffering severe head injuries in a December 2013 ski accident, took his seventh title with Ferrari in 2004 and last win in 2006.
Hamilton can pull alongside at the next race in Sochi, Russia, in two weeks.
"It just doesn't seem real," he says. "It is ultimately a privilege to be in the position, and have such a great team and a car to be able to deliver, weekend in and weekend out.
"I am forever grateful to the people who continue to work hard. I'm just a link in the chain.
"Getting these wins is not easy, when you have a great driver in Valtteri pushing you to the limit. I never thought that I would be here, that's for sure."
Reuters
