Lewis Hamilton: McLaren All Set To Fight Back
Lewis Hamilton could hardly have a more disappointing run than the one he had at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the Englishman did not manage to finish the race and consequently relinquished his championship leadership to Red Bull rival Mark Webber. However, the McLaren driver shrugged off the event as a motor sporting incident and declared his resolve to use the well earned summer break as an opportunity to shrug off the negativity generated by his team’s recent dip in form to return with his motivation redoubled. Hamilton instead chose to point towards the positives of his Hungarian campaign, reasoning there was little good in crying over spilled milk. He said that although the Hungarian Grand Prix had been a disappointment, he had already put the setback behind him and was fully focused on the future. Hamilton pointed out that even though he had to retire, he had done a good job overtaking another car and commended his team for pulling off a neat pit stop to help him pass Ferrari rival Felipe Massa.
Hamilton said that he was optimistic McLaren would emerge stronger for the remaining seven of the season’s runs, revealing his side was working on some crucial upgrades. Hamilton remarked that it was highly exciting that the 2010 title race was so widely open, with the top five drivers in the standings having a mere 20 points between them. The Englishman said that the entire Formula One community eagerly anticipated its traditional four-week hiatus from work. Hamilton elaborated that everyone had travelled for the Hungarian Grand Prix in the knowledge that it was the last campaign before the break and that there would be plenty of opportunity to relax once it got through. He said that the summer break was quite crucial for Formula One engineers, mechanics and factory workers, who worked long hours throughout the year. Hamilton remarked that it was crucial to put Formula One at the back of one’s mind and spend more time with family for a while. However, the Englishman preferred to remain tight-lipped over where he might possibly travel to for his vacation.
When asked to evaluate McLaren’s performance in the past 12 races of the season, Hamilton said that he felt extremely lucky to be a member of a team that had produced a race winning car. He heaped praise on the McLaren staff for not only putting himself and team mate Jenson Button in victorious form, but also for assisting them in remaining highly competitive at nearly every Grand Prix of the season. True, Hamilton said, McLaren had had some tough times in Monaco and Hungary more recently, but holistically, his side had remained commendably fast, mistake free and had managed to bag meaningful points on most occasions – which was not true for some of McLaren’s rivals. Therefore, Hamilton said that he had many reasons to be heartened by his team’s progress so far, but explained that so far only the groundwork for the championship battle had been laid, and it was the coming events that would eventually determine the championship. The Englishman remarked that his famed side had roamed the Formula One paddocks long enough to what it would take to triumph and would exhaust all means possible to catch up with their rival’s progress.
Meanwhile Hamilton hit back at claims the McLaren MP4-25’s inferiority to Red Bull’s RB6 and the Ferrari F10 could see the championship title slip from the side’s grasp. Hamilton said he was pushing as hard as he could to maintain his position as one of the top contenders for the drivers’ title and focusing on bagging meaningful points at every opportunity. After grabbing successive victories in Istanbul and Montreal, the 25-year-old had failed to make it to the podium since, and has seen his MP4-25 losing out to Red Bull and Ferrari in the battle of pace. The Englishman said it was not the time to worry about championship chances, which would only become a nagging concern as the season approached its final runs.
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