Lewis Hamilton believes the outcome of his title duel with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg will be decided on the track and not by any kind of mind games.

Speaking on the eve of Rosberg’s home German Grand Prix the 29-year-old said he felt the driver “who can keep their head most will probably come out on top” in the championship.

“I’d like to think that it’s just focused on the track really,” said Hamilton, now just four points behind Rosberg after winning the British Grand Prix two weeks ago when the German suffered his first retirement this year.

“I’m not trying to play mind games with Nico – he’s a very intelligent driver. You talk about mind games, but I’m not really playing mind games.

“Every time you go faster it naturally has an effect on the mind, so inevitably you might say something and people may interpret that as playing mind games.

“We’re obviously fierce competitors, we’re going to be head-to-head hopefully for the rest of the year and who can keep their head most will probably come out on top.”

While Hamilton is on a roll, Sergio Perez is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing performance in the British Grand Prix.

He is hoping the Force India team will mount a major challenge at Hockenheim, following a poor showing two weeks ago. “I am confident we should be good here,” said Perez. “I think it will be really good for the team to get back to our level. I think Silverstone just didn’t suit our car and it went against us. We have a really big car; it’s very difficult to get it in the right window over the weekend.

“At Silverstone, even the test I did on Tuesday, the car was really inconsistent from one hour to another, which we suspect was the wind.

“It will be good to get back here and see if we can return to form, which will be good for the confidence of the team.”

Force India had the slowest Mercedes-powered cars at Silverstone with both German Nico Hulkenberg and Mexican Perez struggling with the heavy crosswinds.

Perez finished 11th, but believes Hockenheim will be a more forgiving circuit for their car. “This circuit should suit us,” he said. “We will improve on our performances at Silverstone.”

Compiled from AFP