Fitzpatrick second to ..everyone
Hamilton fury over tyres gaffe turns to delight as Mercedes claim sixth Constructors’ title in a row ALL THE PERMUTATIONS THAT WOULD SEE LEWIS HAMILTON CROWNED CHAMP IN MEXICO
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK blew his overnight lead and sentenced himself to a FIFTH runner-up slot of the year.
The English star had started the final round of the Italian Open with a one-shot lead but lost out by the same margin to Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, who claimed his third win of the season.
“It was a bit c**p,” Fitzpatrick (below) said after carding a closing 69. “To lose by one is obviously disappointing. I’ve played well when I’ve been up there on a Sunday, but other people really keep grinding.
“It is what it is. It’s still a great week, I’m here to win and not here to just make up the numbers.”
A double-bogey on the ninth cost 2016 Ryder Cup star Fitzpatrick dearly.
Wiesberger, who finished with a bogey-free 65 in Rome, missed the last seven months of the 2018 season with a wrist injury but now sits at the top of the Race to Dubai and has made a flying start in his quest to make a Ryder Cup debut in 2020.
“It’s been a great summer for me,” said the 34-year-old (top). “I’ve played a lot of good golf and made a lot of progress.”
Just five months ago he was 378th in the world, now he’s in the top 25. LEWIS HAMILTON can clinch his sixth world championship in Mexico on October 27. He needs to be 78 points clear of Valtteri Bottas following the race.
Here’s how the Briton can do it:
He wins, records the fastest lap and Bottas finishes fourth or lower.
He is second, records the fastest lap and Bottas is eighth or lower.
He is third, records the fastest lap and Bottas is 10th or lower.
He wins without recording the fastest lap and Bottas is fifth or lower.
He is second without recording the fastest lap and Bottas is eighth or lower.
He is third without setting the fastest lap and Bottas is 10th or lower.
But... if Bottas records the fastest lap this is how Hamilton would win the title...
He wins and Bottas is fifth or lower. He is second and Bottas is ninth or lower.
He is third and Bottas is outside the top 10. 1h 21m 46.755s 1:22:00.098 1:22:00.613 1:22:46.292 1:22:55.856 +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap 1 V Bottas (Fin) 2 S Vettel (Ger) 3 L Hamilton (Gbr) 4 A Albon (Tha) 5 C Sainz (Spa) 6 D Ricciardo (Aus) 7 C Leclerc (Mon) 8 P Gasly (Fra) 9 S Perez (Mex)
10 N Hulkenburg (Ger) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 LEWIS HAMILTON accused Mercedes of a “f**k up” that denied him victory in Japan – before joining his team to toast their sixth straight world championship double.
The Brit was livid that a questionable strategy decision – one which he blasted on the radio – saw him finish third as team-mate Valtteri Bottas stormed to a surprise triumph at the Japanese Grand Prix.
But his anger was short-lived as he joined his team to celebrate their remarkable sixth successive constructors’ world title and even belted out a rendition of Queen’s We Are The Champions.
Hamilton will wrap up a sixth world title of his own if he wins in Mexico a week next Sunday and Bottas, whose previous victory came back in April, finishes fifth or lower.
But it could have been another story had Mercedes not fluffed their strategy and ultimately cost Hamilton a crucial 10 seconds. They opted to keep the Brit out for three laps longer than Bottas, then put him on the wrong tyres, which forced him to make a second unscheduled stop.
“That was just a f**k up,” said Hamilton, complaining to his race engineer Pete Bonnington. “How have I lost that much time? I am basically out of the race.”
He is now 64 points clear of Bottas with four rounds and 104 points left to play for. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate is the only man who can stop him from moving to within one title of Michael Schumacher’s record of seven.
But Hamilton is not expecting to wrap things up in Mexico City for a third year on the trot.
He said: “We still have a battle. I don’t anticipate it will be Mexico where I win the championship. We could have been done better today.
“We should have got a one-two, but the strategy was not optimum for me. I came out from the pits and realised I lost 10 seconds. If they told me I would have been that far behind Valtteri, I would have stopped earlier.”
For Bottas, it was a morale-boosting victory after a dreadful run of form that has seen his team-mate spearhead Mercedes’ title challenge.
Ferrari once again failed to get the best from their car. Sebastian Vettel, who started on pole, was second, and Charles Leclerc sixth, before post-race sanctions dropped him to seventh.