Nobody can accuse Anthony Hamilton of a lack of confidence in his son.
Lewis Hamilton's Dad has predicted his son will have the 2015 Formula One drivers' title sewn up by midseason.
The British driver wrapped up his second world crown at the final race of the 2014 season, which was dominated by the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton overtook the German after a slow start to the campaign, and Anthony believes that if Lewis can avoid any pitfalls he will comfortably defend his title.
'You never know, but I think if you look at what Lewis went through last year, we started the year where we felt that if everything had gone well, by mid-year he probably would have won the championship,' Hamilton senior told
Sky Sports.
'I think the same thing could potentially happen this year – if he starts well, if the car is good, performance is good, I think Lewis could win the championship again this year.'
Hamilton is obviously expecting his son's driving to improve dramatically, given he thinks Rosberg can raise his game 'by 150 per cent'.
The pair enjoyed a frosty relationship last year, but Anthony says that friction has developed into a friendship forged in battle (or something like that).
'I think the respect between them will have grown immensely and I think both guys are sensitive for each other.
'Obviously we are at the height of their careers and when you get to this stage there are going to be tensions – but it is not personal tensions, it is business.
'It would be the same if you were sitting in an office with your best friend and there is only one job, you’ll still be best friends and you’ll still be going out for a drink, but you’d still want to beat that guy to the next job. So the friendship is strong.'
