Lewis Hamilton said he believes he is still very much in contention for the 2016 Formula One drivers' title despite trailing leader Nico Rosberg.
The Mercedes driver, who clinched his first win in three months at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, reduced his teammate's lead at the top down to 26 points by claiming full 25 points at Austin.
With three more races to go, Hamilton will need nothing less than finishes at the top step of the podium. The Brit will have a lot to fight for at the Mexican Grand Prix on 30 October, as win for Rosberg on Sunday coupled with anything less than a third place finish for him will end his title challenge this year.
Even with three second place finishes in the remaining races of the season, Rosberg, who is sitting pretty at the top of the driver standings with 331 points, will be able to win his maiden drivers' championship.
However, the defending champion reveals he will keep up his never-say-die attitude in the upcoming races at Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi to give himself a chance and make life difficult for Rosberg. The 31-year-old is also relieved to have won at the Circuit of the Americas after having a rough period in the recent past, including the engine fire that forced him out of the Sepang race in Malaysia.
"There are still points available, anything is possible. The moment you give up that is the moment you are doomed. I have never given up in my life and I don't plan on doing so," Hamilton was quoted as saying by the Sky Sports.
"So I have still continued to keep a positive frame of mind - I have got to.
"Spa went well [from the back of the grid]. I had the best pace in the weekend of Monza and then I did not get the start, which kind of decided that.
"Singapore obviously wasn't great, then Malaysia was great and then it wasn't great [when his engine blew]."
Hamilton also is aware of drivers staging a comeback by overturning deficits in the last few races of the season in the past. In 2007, it was from the Brit, who was then racing with McLaren, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen snatched the title away after cutting down a 13-point deficit [37 points according to the current scoring system that came into effect since 2010], according to the report.
"Honestly, I don't try to compare it to other times, but history has shown lots of ups and downs and changes. There have been times where it's been dead certain already, and there have been times where it has flipped," Hamilton added.
"So that's exactly why I've just got to keep my head down and try to do the job I have done this weekend [in Austin], which I seriously believe I can do."
