Driving through the 2010 season with Lewis Hamilton (Part 2)
The fourth place finish in Germany was although not an ideal finish for Lewis Hamilton, yet he managed to maintain his dominance on the charts even though McLaren’s pace was clearly not as good as that of Ferraris or of Red Bulls.
As the race ended, the British driver, for the first time, proclaimed that they possessed only the third fastest car on the track, and he kept saying this all throughout the rest of the season.
However, the worst was yet to come. The Hungarian Grand Prix was undoubtedly the poorest race of the season for the British squad as Hamilton’s gearbox failure not only forced him to retire from the race but also brought the driver
down from the apex of the charts giving the top slot to the Red Bull driver, Mark Webber.
The following three weeks of the summer break passed in a lot of frustration and unease for the driver, who was eager to come back to the track and get back his Drivers’ Championship throne. The Spa round granted Hamilton his wish
as a glorious victory took the 2008 Champion back to the top of the tally. This race also saw three of the top five drivers, Alonso, Button and Sebastian Vettel finish out of points, making everyone believe that the final tug was now between Hamilton and Webber
alone.
The Italian Grand prix threw up yet another twist in the season. The over ambitious and less cautious driver, Hamilton made a poor over taking move, on Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, right in the first lap of the race, which saw him spearing into the tyre wall. Although
the ill fated day ended for the driver, hard luck kept on following him. A very similar incident beleaguered him again in Singapore, as he collided with Webber ending another day without points. This third retirement in just four races not only brought the
driver down from his P1 in the points’ standing but also threatened his title ambitions.
In the meanwhile, Ferrari and Red Bull kept maintaining their pace, while McLaren’s MP4-25 continued struggling behind them. The subsequent round in Japan was yet another proof of the driver’s poor luck. A crash on Friday practice,
an average qualifying and then gear box problems on race day, all together permitted the driver a fifth place finish only.
At the Korean Grand Prix though, things started turning around but many believed that it was too late now. However, the determined driver as well as his team still remained confident as his team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh commented
that Hamilton knows how to pull rabbits out of a hat when required. An encouraging Korean round saw him second behind Alonso at the tough wet track.
However, being at fourth place in the charts and 24 points apart from the charts’ topper, his chances of the Championship were next to none as the Formula One caravan entered for the season decider, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Although
his team still kept on cheering the driver, the 25-year-old exclaimed that only a ‘miracle’ could grant him the title now.
However, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix did not produce any miracle for the driver who kept struggling behind the Red Bull’s hero Vettel, while his McLaren was simply not able to show the pace required to overtake the young German.
As the day ended, Red Bull bagged the Drivers’ Championship while the Englishman, Hamilton and Button took second and third place on the podium respectively. As the season wrapped up, the aggressive driver was seen in fourth place in the annual standings while
his team, McLaren ended in second place in the Constructors’ charts.
Even after having lost the Championship, the team as well as the driver seem glad with the way the season unwrapped. With a large number of lessons learnt this season and high hopes of an improved car, the British squad is ready
to enter the 2011 season adamant to bag both championships next year.
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