Japanese GP: Lewis Hamilton's Dark Weekend in the Land of Rising Sun
The Land of the Rising Sun "Japan" hasn't been much brighter for the British driver, Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren team packed the sixteenth round of the season with much disappointment after going through a tough weekend.
The Japanese Grand Prix was held last Sunday at the Suzuka Track amidst much thrill and anticipation. The top five drivers of this season including Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button all went out to the brutal
arena, ready to backlash anyone who came in their way of victory.
However, the two Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated the track in the practice and qualifying sessions while they also stayed ahead of all their competitors on the final race day. On the other hand, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso also
demonstrated some great pace.
Amongst the top competitors, McLaren were the weakest, not only because they bagged fewer points but also because of the present crucial time of the season. This kind of performance might have been accepted three months back but at such a crucial time, this
may turn fatal for the team’s future hopes.
Both the team drivers ended their first practice session poorly as they went too wide off the track and finally ended with their cars standing in the garage, with a lot of work for the mechanics to do. This resulted in their little practice. Moreover, the
heavy rainfall in Suzuka on Saturday morning halted the third practice as well as the qualifying which was then carried later on Sunday morning.
The man with the worst fate so far this season has been Lewis Hamilton. After the two unfortunate months, he entered into yet another poor weekend. The British driver had been lately hit with a purple patch as he retired in three of the last four races before
heading for Suzuka. Here, also he damaged his car right at the first practice session due to which the team was neither able to practice nor was able to test some of its latest upgrades.
On the final race day at Suzuka, he had qualified for the third place on the grid but had to start five places behind after facing gearbox problem. Finally, after all the ordeals, Hamilton ended the race at fifth place while his team-mate stood one place
ahead of him at forth.
Hamilton confirmed, “This wasn’t a great weekend for me. I made a mistake on Friday, then we changed the gearbox yesterday and I got a grid penalty, and then I had another gearbox problem in the race. That’s an unfortunate amount of collective bad luck,
but the team and I will bounce back.”
He revealed that after the problems that he had with the new gear, he was afraid that the car would not make it to the end but he was happy that at last he packed the day at the 5th place. The 2008 world champion added, “I am thankful and so happy
that I least saw the end of the race - it’s my first finish for a long time.”
The British driver has kept on losing places one after the other. From his previous top slot, he has now descended to fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship.
But still, he believes that he isn't out of the title race and only one victory could bring him back, although he understands that it would be a tough thing. Hamilton maintained, “The championship doesn’t look great at the moment. But there are still three
races to go and 75 points available, so we’ll remain optimistic and keep doing the best job we can. I’ll keep fighting.”
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