LEW’S BIG FEAR
Title blues for Hamilton
LEWIS HAMILTON fears for his championship challenge as Sebastian Vettel gained further ground at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Two weeks ago the duo were fighting tooth and nail, a battle that saw Vettel succumb to a bout of road rage by deliberately driving into Hamilton.
At the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton never got close to Vettel’s Ferrari for any wheel-to-wheel action.
A five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change meant there was simply too much ground for Hamilton to make up, with his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas holding off late pressure from Vettel to take the victory.
And if Hamilton is to win a fourth world title, he simply cannot have any more weekends where all does not go according to plan, with Vettel now 20 points clear at the top of the standings.
“I gave it everything I could,” said Hamilton of his battle from eighth on the grid to fourth at the chequered flag.
“It (the title challenge) is not going great at the moment but there is a long way to go.
“I have fallen further behind this weekend. One step ahead and then it’s like five places back.
“I have just got to keep battling and I certainly won’t give up.” Much of ® from JAMES MURRAY the talk before the race had been over whether Bottas might do his Mercedes team-mate a favour by trying to slow Vettel’s progress.
In fairness to Hamilton, he dismissed such a notion and after showing lightning reactions at the start Bottas fully deserved the second win of his career.
Trickier
The Finn now trails Hamilton by just 15 points, so it is fair to say that the title may be headed for a three-way fight.
“I think that was the start of my life,” said Bottas of his lightning getaway, which was so well-judged that it needed investigation from the stewards. “At the beginning, I could control the race but it was trickier towards the end. I’m really happy. It’s only the second win in my career.”
Vettel refused to believe Bottas had not jumped the start. But he has no problem believing that Bottas is now in the mix for the title.
The German said: “I think he always has been a challenger. He’s in one of the quickest cars, he’s one of the quickest drivers.
“He’s been a bit underrated in his Williams years because the car wasn’t as good. He did a great job and Felipe Massa was a tough team-mate for most of his years.
“He’s giving a hard time to Lewis, who is well respected for a number of reasons. The more drivers at the front, the better it is for all of us.” Daniel Ricciardo followed up his win in Azerbaijan with a gritty third place after holding off Hamilton’s late charge.
But it was a fifth retirement in seven races for his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, the victim of an overenthusiastic move by Torro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, which also ended Fernando Alonso’s race in the McLaren.