DON’T MESS IT UP LEWIS
Toto title warning to ace Hamilton
LEWIS HAMILTON has been warned against taking his foot off the gas and risk blowing a fourth world title.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has told his star driver to remember just how quickly things turned against Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton scored a shock win in Singapore two weeks ago when Ferrari rival Vettel crashed out after cruising to pole.
That left Hamilton clear to open up a 28-point lead in the title race with six races left, starting with Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
But a year ago Hamilton was leading both in Sepang and in the title race when his engine blew, opening the door for former teammate Nico Rosberg to win the crown.
Wolff insisted: “The result in Singapore doesn’t change anything in terms of how we approach the final races.
“We will need to be on top of our game at every track. The result in Singapore came as a surprise and the danger of a result like that is to misjudge your own performance.
“But within the team our focus has been on the painful moments over the Singapore weekend – why we struggled in the long runs on Friday and our lack of performance over one lap in qualifying.
“We have deepened our understanding of those problems and we will take that learning with us into the final races.
“The last race was a strong reminder that sport always has the power to surprise and defy all predictions. We have been on the receiving end of those bad memories before and we know that they can happen to us as anybody else.
“The Malaysian race has given us many moments of drama and glory over the years. Its sweeping corners and long straights should mean the car is well suited to the circuit.”
Hamilton will be rivals with James Bond next season when Red Bull is relaunched as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.
The companies have created a performance centre in Milton Keynes to help build Aston’s next Valkyrie supercar, but Renault will provide F1 engines next season.