Lewis Hamilton jumps back into title fight
Lewis Hamilton kept alive his hopes of winning the Drivers World Championship ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after setting the fastest time in Friday’s practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The British driver finished with a time of one minute, 40.888 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
The 25-year-old is currently fourth in the Drivers’ Championship with 222 points, 24 points off championship leader Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel’s victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix last week seemed to have all but ended Hamilton’s quest for his second
World title. Even though the championship is increasingly looking like a three way battle between Alonso, Mark Webber and Vettel – Hamilton is not prepared to give up without a fight.
The McLaren driver finished second in Friday’s first practice session before topping the grid in the evening session.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was another of the quick drivers at the Yas Marina Circuit, finishing behind Hamilton in both practice sessions. The German has been quick throughout the season and has started nine races from pole position – more than any other
driver.
With four race wins, Vettel currently occupies third place in the championship standings having bagged 231 points so far. However, his team-mate Mark Webber has an even better chance of winning the title as he holds second place, only eight points adrift
of championship leader Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard is guaranteed his third title, regardless of where his opponents finish, if he wins the race or finishes in second place. Conversely, the permutations are much more complicated for Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton needs to win the race and hope that
Alonso finishes outside the point-scoring positions, while the Red Bull drivers do not finish on the podium.
While talking to the media after the second practice session, Hamilton said, "When I won the title the Gods paid me back for the year before. But I'll definitely be asking for them to give me some support here. I need a bit of a miracle, but I am going in
with the glass three-quarters full and hope to come out with it overflowing."
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