Hamilton turns focus to Silverstone as his comeback gathers momentum

EVEN Lewis Hamilton, with all his confidence in his talent and speed, would not have bet on his world championship turning around so quickly as Formula One takes a step into the unknown today with its first grand prix in Azerbaijan.

A win in Baku would not only complete a hat-trick of victories for the Briton, but would also see him overtake Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the top of the standings for the first time this year.

And conceivably, Hamilton could be leading the championship heading into the British Grand Prix on July 10, something which seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Hamilton himself has been stunned by the speed of the turnaround from 43 points adrift.

Asked if he was surprised at how the drivers’ standings have shifted, the 31year-old said: “Absolutely.

“I could never have predicted that. If I was to put money down, I would never have tried to predict that. I thought Monaco might have been a one off; a fluke kind of thing. But this latest race [Canadian GP] was not a fluke, it was a great strong race and then today, the way it unfolded.

“There has never been a doubt this year in terms of my speed, or what I can do in the car, not at all. But of course you never know what can happen next. There was one problem after another.

“It would be amazing to go to Silverstone [British Grand Prix] and have the performance we had today [in Canada]. But I need to win every race. I want to win every race. It is not a need, it is a desire and it has shown once again I am just as focused as any of the guys here. I didn’t make any mistakes and that’s comforting to see that focus and being that confident and comfortable in the car.”

But just because Rosberg is in his sights it will not necessarily be plain sailing from now on. There are still 15 races to go, and Hamilton expects to face grid penalties later in the season for using more than his five allotted engines, a consequence of repeated mechanical failures in the first four races.

Starts are also a concern, with his getaway in Montreal forcing him to fight off Rosberg, having lost the lead to Sebastian Vettel. He said his engineers had found a problem with the car’s clutch and that he was not to blame for the issue.

That poor start meant Hamilton had to defend firmly from Rosberg, the two brushing wheels, sending the German wide. The reigning champion said there was no need for an inquest into the incident. Rosberg admitted he was “P ***** off” at the time but said he just needed to do better in future. Niki Lauda, the threetime champion and Mercedes chairman, said he had “no problem” with the incident. — ©