When Lewis Hamilton won his third drivers title in 2015 he did so with such ease that he could have sleep walked to the championship. That’s not to say he didn’t have to fight hard, he had a fast and ambitious team mate to contend with but ultimately Hamilton drove like a champion throughout 2015. This season has again seen team Mercedes dominate. For Hamilton the 2016 F1 campaign has been up and down from the very first race. Beset by technical issues and forced retirements Hamilton has seen Rosberg walk the first half of the season in much the same manner he did this time last year. Hamilton’s form has also come into play, not his speed but his mentality his mind management. This was evident in Spain and Baku. At Spain he declared that if he didn’t win the race his season was effectively over. Starting from pole Hamilton expected the win having out performed his team mate all weekend. The omens looked good, but a poor start at the beginning of the race saw Hamilton fall into second. Determined to claw back first position Hamilton decided to take the lead three turns into the race on the first lap. However Rosberg swiftly closed the gap and with nowhere to go both Mercedes drivers collided and spun out of the race. “Spain has definitely ended up being a turning point. It didn’t feel like it was; it was rock bottom: ‘Basically, where do we go from here?’ The only way was up. I managed to get my head together and get on with it even though I have fewer engines, and all these different things that didn’t seem to be working with me, just deal with it.” Said Hamilton. At the European Grand Prix Hamilton shined during the free practice sessions but mysteriously had an error strewn qualifying which ended with an uncharacteristic crash. It seemed as though he was distracted. But Hamilton’s mentality is made of steel and when he won the Hungarian Grand Prix for a record fifth time he finally took lead from Rosberg for the first time this season. But Hamilton isn’t taking things for granted. “It’s not massive (lead), right now, I am still with the same mentality of still chasing.” Said Hamilton. Hamilton’s “chasing” mentality is down to the fact that his allocation of engines is depleting and at some point he knows he will have to change his current engine and that means picking up a penalty. In the meantime Hamilton will head too this weekends German Grand Prix with the aim to extend his new found points lead over his team mate before the F1 circus heads off on a summer recess.