LEWIS HAMILTON admitted today he is braced for a tough battle to stop Max Verstappen from continuing to extend his championship lead.

Hamilton is now a dozen points adrift of Verstappen after the Dutch driver raced to an impressive victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

And with the next rounds in Mexico and Brazil expected to suit Verstappen’s Red Bull machinery, Hamilton has every right to be concerned that a record-breaking eighth world championship might be slipping away.

“We are going to the next two tracks which are very strong circuits for Red Bull so it is going to be tough,” said Hamilton, who finished 1.3 seconds behind Verstappen on Sunday.

“We will just try and minimise how strong they can be compared to us, and see if we can do a better job.

“I am trying not to think about it at the moment, but [to] be happy with the job I did today. I am living in the moment and will take it one race at a time.”

Hamilton’s battle with Verstappen will reconvene with three successive races in Mexico, Brazil and Qatar ahead of two back-to-back rounds in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.