Lewis Hamilton believes he has the hand of God resting over him when he steps into his Formula One car.

Hamilton, who is Catholic, will set his sights on wrestling back the championship lead at the British Grand Prix after falling one point behind Sebastian Vettel following a calamitous weekend for Mercedes in Austria.

Hamilton was given three days off by Mercedes as he prepares to race in front of an expectant 130,000 partisan fans at Silverstone on Sunday.

“Anything can happen any day, but I feel God has his hand over me,” Hamilton, 33, said ahead of his home race.

“Every morning I have breakfast and before I eat, I pray. Every time I eat, actually, I pray. So, whether it’s a couple of seconds, a minute or whatever you are praying for, take that moment.

“I go with a couple of my close friends [to church]. We meet, we go for breakfast and then we go to church together.

“We leave most often feeling enlightened and empowered. Sometimes you leave, and you are like ‘I didn’t get that today’, but most of the time you leave and you are like ‘wow, I know where I am going’.”

Hamilton is in his 12th season and this year is battling it out with Vettel for a fifth world crown.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, right, has pushed Lewis Hamilton all the way so far this season
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, right, has pushed Lewis Hamilton all the way so far this season (Martin Rickett/PA)

Only Juan Manuel Fangio (five) and Michael Schumacher (seven) have won the championship more than four times.

Hamilton also surpassed Schumacher’s pole position record in Italy last year, and will become the most successful driver in the history of the British Grand Prix if he wins for a sixth time on Sunday.

“Formula One has given me a life, and given me a purpose, which is pretty special, but F1 has also broken me,” Hamilton, speaking on the ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast, added. “It’s broken me and built me.

“When you go through it, you put so much into it, it breaks your heart and kills you when you fail, and when you stumble. Everyone’s watching when you stumble.

“But when you get back up and when you succeed it lifts you up. You fall and you break a bone, you heal and you keep going.

“It’s the passion for what you do and the will to succeed. It’s just something that’s hard to express but everyone has it in some shape or form.”