McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button still confident of title win
Formula One’s exciting 2010 season is heading towards a big finale. 15 out of a total of 19 races have gone by and all that remains are the 4 final Grands Prix. The position at the top of the table has changed multiple times
this season. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took the top spot twice but failed to hold on to it on both occasions. Mark Webber of Red Bull is the man who is now leading the pack, with 25 points separating the top 5.
Hamilton is currently in 3rd place trailing Webber by 20 points.
After the Singapore Grand Prix, where Hamilton for the second race running failed to finish, there were some suggestions that the 2008 champion should make some adjustments to his driving style if he is to remain
in the title race. Hamilton though has insisted that he would not do any such thing, and would carry on the way he has been till now.
Lewis Hamilton, who won his first and only title in 2008, said that he still has a great chance of winning the championship. He added that he would do so by driving the same way he has always driven.
Hamilton said, "I'm a racer. I always race my heart out, and nothing will ever change that."
In the last race at Singapore,
Hamilton started in 2nd place. Mark Webber though played a master stroke and following the safety car in the 3rd lap, the Aussie decided to take an early pit stop and came back with hard
tyres. Webber easily went past Hamilton who was still on initial the soft tyres.
Hamilton continued to press Webber to get the 2nd spot back. On lap 36, the Brit finally saw his chance and decided to go for it. The move backfired and as
Hamilton tried to overtake from the outside, Webber defended his place and there was contact between the 2 cars. This ended the race for
Hamilton while Webber luckily went on to finish 3rd.
Hamilton insisted that he was not to blame for the accident and he was within his right to make the move.
He said: "I've seen the replay and I was half a car-length ahead of Mark, and on the racing line.”
"It's very frustrating that in Italy [the previous race where
Hamilton crashed], I tapped the car in front and it broke my front suspension, and in
Singapore, the car behind tapped me and punctured my tyre. I've been unlucky both times."
The McLaren driver has not had the best luck in the last 4 races. In the Italian Grand Prix, it was the Ferrari driver Felipe Massa who ran into him and prematurely ended his race. The Brit though is not bothered by it all
and believes that he has a great chance of winning his 2nd World Championship.
Hamilton said: "I spoke with the team on Sunday night and we looked at things from their proper perspective: I'm still third overall in the points table and only 20 points off the championship leader."
"That's still less than a race win - it's easy to get disheartened by being 20 points away because it sounds such a lot, but under last year's rules, that's only about eight points - and to be eight points off with four races
left is nothing really."
McLaren’s other driver, Jenson Button, who is also the reigning world champion, believes that new points’ system does not make much of a difference. Button said that he is not bothered by the changes this season and all he
needs to do is concentrate on doing well on the tracks. Jenson is currently 5th on the table and trails table topper Mark Webber by 25 points.
Button said, "I think the new points system has definitely amplified what people think of the standings, but I've always imagined the points as they would have been under last year's system."
"In old money, I'm 10 points off Mark, and Lewis is about eight or nine behind him. And, with four races to go, that's not much at all."
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