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London — With eight races left in 2015, Lewis Hamilton already has his hands on one prize. It is the new pole position trophy, awarded to the driver with the most poles each season. The new measure was introduced for 2014, with the regulations now demanding that a “trophy will be awarded to the driver who sets the most pole positions” each season. 2014, the winner was Hamilton’s Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, although Rosberg warned Hamilton not to get too excited after clinching it at the Belgian GP.

Rosberg told Hamilton: “I never got my trophy for last year, so don’t expect a trophy coming your way for that.” Hamilton said he wouldn’t mind anyway.

He said: “The pole trophy is not particularly exciting. Winning the world championship is the goal, but getting poles is definitely a great thing.

“I would give up everything else – all the poles, the pole trophy – for the world championship but I’m really happy with how qualifying has gone this year. It’s been a huge step.” Team boss Toto Wolff admits that qualifying is a big reason for Hamilton’s success in 2015.

Wolff, explaining that controlling the race from the front is particularly crucial in 2015, said: “You do half the job on a Saturday.”

Poles or not, however, team chairman and F1 legend Niki Lauda thinks Hamilton is simply “unbeatable” at present.

Lauda said: “Nico is fighting like crazy but Lewis raised his game. I think he was unbeatable, especially at Spa.

“If Lewis doesn’t do a mistake in the next couple of races it will be hard for Nico to win the title.” — Wheels24