Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton does not have his sights set on breaking legendary driver Michael Schumacher's haul of seven world titles. Instead, he's more concerned about the possibility of equalling his idol Ayrton Senna's three peat. Hamilton already has two Formula One Driver's World Championship Titles under his belt. Sitting on top of the standings this season, a third title is not out of the question for the British driver.  

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I've never set after that Schumacher goal, I always wanted to emulate Ayrton," said Hamilton in an interview ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. The Independent reports that the subject came up after Hamilton was informed that another F1 legend, Nigel Mansell, believes that he is "on track" to reach the German driver's record.

According to a report by Sky Sports, Mansell believes that having already won two titles and currently leading the 2015 season, Hamilton is in a position to challenge Schumacher. In fact, if Hamilton wins this year, he would be a year younger than Schumacher was when he won his third title back in 2000. Lewis would be 29 and Schumacher was 30 at that time. The two of them would have both been competing for an equal number of nine seasons in F1 upon achieving the hat-trick.

"Michael is a legend and was successful for a long time. Honestly, since I've been in F1 I felt like I could compete to win the championship every year. But some years you have the car, and some you don't," explained Hamilton.

He also said that he doesn't know how many good years he can string together especially with changing regulations. He spoke about Ferrari's five year blazing streak from 2000-2004 where Schumacher won the majority of his titles. Before then he had to wait for four years before adding to the two titles he won with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

He also cited Red Bull's four-year streak with Sebastian Vettel. The German has been pegged as the pretender to Schumacher's crown ever since he won his first world title in 2010. He now drives for Ferrari and is third in the 2015 standings. Red Bull is struggling to regain its former glory with its drivers managing only 7^th and 8^th place so far this season.

Judging from history, Hamilton has good reason to believe that each season can be unpredictable. He has extended his contract with the Mercedes team until at least the 2018 season but there is no telling if they can keep their current dominance together. He also has his teammate Nico Rosberg to worry about. Rosberg is only 17 points behind with still over half the season left to compete. 

TagsLewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Formula One Championships, Formula One Grand Prix, world record, Ayrton Senna, Mercedes, ferrari, Nico Rosberg