Lewis Hamilton says he needs a consistent run of points-scoring finishes in the latter part of the season if he wants to win this year's World title.
In the build-up to the Valencia GP, which takes place after the three-week summer break, Hamilton is sitting in the lead of the standings, five points ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and a further three in front of Felipe Massa.
And with a total of 70 points still to play for, the battle in on between McLaren and Ferrari to see just who can produce the more consistent results and walk away with this year's crown.
"Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different Championship compared to last year: 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important," Hamilton said.
"This year, everybody's results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions.
"That's made getting strong results even more important, but I think we'll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season."
The Brit, though, is refusing to make any predictions about the outcome of this year's Championship having already witnessed how easily a team can gain or lose the advantage.
"I'm wary of making predictions - the race in Hungary showed just how unpredictable Formula 1 can be, and that's one of the reasons why it's such a fascinating sport," he continued.
"Clearly, though, I am still in a good position to challenge for the World Championship and that remains my aim.
"We still feel confident about our chances - we know our rivals will be strong, but we've worked hard to improve the car and are confident we'll be competitive this weekend.
"The most important thing is to finish consistently in the points."
The first race where he needs to score is next weekend's European GP, which takes place at the Valencia circuit. And as the track is new to the F1 calendar, Hamilton concedes getting a good start in the practice sessions will be vital.
"Our main focus will still be the three free practice sessions ahead of qualifying," the 23-year-old said.
"I'll be working closely with my engineers to make sure we start the weekend with a good baseline and work hard to strengthen it as we go through the weekend.
"I enjoy visiting new racetracks and I'm looking forward to getting into the cockpit on Friday morning. It looks like being an amazing track."
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