Lewis Hamilton says the only person who can stop him winning a third world championship this year is himself.
Hamilton leads Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 53 points, a gap so big he could retire from two races in a row and still lead the championship. Mercedes has suffered just one reliability issue this year - Rosberg's six-race old engine failing at the Italian Grand Prix - and Hamilton looks to be heavy favourite to win the title again having finished off the podium just once.
"I don't let anybody stand in my way, ever," Hamilton told the official F1 website when asked if anyone could stop him winning a third championship. "The only person who could get in my way is myself - and I won't allow that!"
Over the summer break Hamilton's activities away from the race track garnered a lot of attention, while he has recently confirmed a planned musical collaboration with rapper Drake. But the reigning world champion sees no problem with having a life away from the race track.
"Who said that you only should do one thing in life? That you are in one box and that is the only box for you? People tend to put people in that position - you are a Formula One driver only and that there is nothing else left and right.
"Like with Kanye West: you are a rapper and nothing else. But then people camp in front of the shop that sells his trainers! These shoes were gone in seconds. I love that concept - and I am inspired by that. It helps me being open to more opportunities - to be in more than one box. I want to be at least in two boxes!"
Though only 30 and at the peak of his career, Hamilton admits he already has one eye on life after Formula One.
"I am at a point in my life where I know that I have a certain amount of years left in Formula One and I am conscious of what will be beyond that. I look at people like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and David Beckham - sports stars who have continued to rise beyond their active careers and created businesses and futures for themselves beyond sport.
"Now I am in a phase where I am trying to build foundations to be able to do the same. In terms of winning this championship, I don't know what effect it would have on my future life. What I do know is that it's been my desire since I was a kid to emulate Ayrton Senna - to get these three world championships. That was always my target. If I get these three titles, that would be fantastic. If I think it over, it actually has to be at least three! That is what I am working on."