LEW NEEDS LINING
BRITISH GRAND PRIX Pressure on as Hamilton faces must-win battle
IT IS little wonder why Lewis Hamilton describes tomorrow’s British Grand Prix as a “must-win” race.
There are so many reasons why the controversial three-time world champion admits the pressure is on him to top the podium at Silverstone.
Most importantly, as the drivers’ championship series reaches the halfway mark, Hamilton needs to reduce leader Sebastian Vettel’s 20-point lead.
But if the more consistent Vettel is his main rival, he must also keep an eye on Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn is only 15 points adrift and underlined his determination to follow up his victory in Austria by clocking the fastest times in both practice sessions yesterday, although only a fraction quicker than Hamilton, who was on a harder tyre.
But a five-place grid penalty for Bottas following a gearbox change means Hamilton may not be kept quite as busy come tomorrow.
Then there is the chance for Hamilton to make history by equalling the record of Jim Clark and Alain Prost, who both won five British Grands Prix – as well as Clark’s record of four on the trot set between 1961 and 1965.
That, in turn, would certainly help Hamilton win back some affection from motorsport followers, who were so disappointed by his no-show at the F1 Live event in London in midweek.
And, of course, a home-grown winner would certainly help lift some of the gloom and doom surrounding the future of the race.
Silverstone’s owners have activated the break clause in their contract with the sport’s power brokers, to cease hosting the event in 2019 after a run of 32 1 S Vettel (Ger, Ferrari) ............ 171 2 L Hamilton (GB, Mercedes) .151 3 V Bottas (Fin, Mercedes) ...... 136 4 D Ricciardo (Aus, Red Bull)..107 5 K Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) ...... 83 6 S Perez (Mex, Force India) ..... 50 7 M Verstappen (Hol, Red Bull).45 8 E Ocon (Fra, Force India) ....... 39 9 C Sainz Jr (Spa, Toro Rosso) . 29 10 F Massa (Bra, Williams) .......... 22 1 Mercedes .............................. 287 2 Ferrari ................................... 254 3 Red Bull ................................ 152 4 Force India .............................. 89 5 Williams ................................. 40 6 Toro Rosso .............................. 33 7 CAPTION:Haas F1 ..................................eug 29 8 erciliquatRenault ...................................eugait 18 5 fgkjdkfj9 Sauber kgjdf ......................................kgjk kjfg 2 dkj kjg10 McLarenkdj kdj ....................................gkjkjg k ® unbroken years. On top of all that, Hamilton – having posted a hat-trick of victories on home soil – has the added pressure of being favourite for a race he is predicting will be “spectacular”.
After a fifth place in Azerbaijan and fourth in Austria, Hamilton took a controversial mini-break in Greece to ensure he is in the best shape for the 10th of a 20-race series he feels is the toughest of his career.
“This is the most intense battle I’ve had through my whole racing career,” he said.
“I’ve been racing since I was eight, but this is the most intense season in Formula One.
“It’s definitely been difficult, we’ve obviously had a couple of issues that have not really allowed us to show the results of our hard work. But I really want to win this Grand Prix – it’s a must win.
Behind
“I am looking forward to it and hope we can use it as a springboard to get some better results. There’s a lot of pressure going into it. I just have to keep driving the way I have been and hope things get better.
“Right now I am 20 points behind. I don’t have a crystal ball but it doesn’t look great at the moment. But there is still a long way to go. Within one race it could switch but the bigger the gap gets, the more pressure builds.”
Hamilton’s pursuit of a fourth world title is proving trickier than he imagined at the start of the season.
He and Vettel have three wins each this season but the difference has been the German’s greater consistency – he has only finished off the podium twice and both times he was fourth. In contrast, Hamilton has finished off the podium four times – and has a seventh and a fifth to add to two fourth places.
Of the nine races so far, four have not gone to plan for Hamilton, who admits his campaign has been a combination of a personal failure to deliver and misfortune.
The 32-year-old was off form in Russia and Monaco, while a loose head restraint cost him a probable win in Azerbaijan, where matters were made worse by losing two points to Vettel, despite his rival’s controversial 10-second stop-and-go penalty for dangerous driving.
Hamilton’s frustration at the FIA’s decision to allow Vettel to walk away with only a stern warning for that ‘road rage’ incident was compounded when he suffered a five-place grid penalty for an unauthorised gearbox change in Austria, as Vettel finished second.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: “Lewis had all the bad luck that you can have. Now it is time to fight back and hopefully that will happen at Silverstone.”
There seems little between the Ferrari and the Mercedes and on the law of averages Vettel is due a bad race. Hamilton, though, certainly can’t afford another one after such a roller-coaster season.