I WON’T TAKE FOOT OFF GAS
Hamilton still in it to win it Federer socks it to Jack
®
LEWIS HAMILTON insisted he had no intention of taking his foot off the gas – despite having already sealed his fourth world title.
And the Mercedes star was true to his word in the penultimate race of the season, powering his way from last to fourth at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was forced to start from the pit-lane after crashing out in qualifying and then having a new engine bolted on to the back of his car.
But such was his pace, had he started in pole position he might already have been on board his £16.5m jet by the time the rest of the field had finished in Sao Paulo.
Hamilton certainly didn’t find his blast through the pack too taxing, but mounting a challenge on eventual winner Sebastian Vettel was always going to be a long shot.
Harder
“I messed up and put myself in the worst possible position,” he said of his qualifying crash. “I was quick enough to win the race from pole to the flag and I didn’t do that, so I made the job a lot harder.
“Waking up this morning, my goal was just to redeem myself after yesterday’s mistake, do the team proud and get the points back. I tried to get third but I just ran out of tyres in the end.”
The pit-lane start at least ensured Hamilton was able to safely negotiate some first-lap carnage that saw Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne retire, Daniel Ricciardo spin and Romain Grosjean hit with a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.
By the time the safety car withdrew at the end of lap five, Hamilton was already up to 14th. Five laps later he was 9th.
Lap 20 saw him chasing down the Williams of Felipe Massa for fifth, the Brazilian appearing in his final home grand prix before retiring from F1.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was a tougher nut to crack, the Dutchman at least holding off Hamilton through the first corner before succumbing. At the front, Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was making little impression on race leader Vettel, the pole-sitting Finn having lost first place on the opening lap.
Hamilton, however, looked set to give Raikkonen more to worry about as the chequered flag approached.
But despite latching on to the Ferrari’s gearbox, the British racer had already used the best of his tyres and was unable to snatch the final podium place.
Hamilton said: “I enjoyed the race and I enjoyed the battle. That continues to show me, but also to everyone else, that I still have a lot of fire in my heart.
“I’m still young at heart and there’s still many, many more races to go. To get back to fourth, I have to be very grateful and be happy with that.” ® ROGER FEDERER began his bid for a seventh ATP Finals crown with a comfortable win over American Jack Sock.
With Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic both missing through injury, Federer and Rafael Nadal are the stand-out attractions at London’s O2 Arena, where the game’s favourite rivalry is due to resume in the knockout stages.
But first they must each navigate their way through their respective groups and Federer made a smooth start, beating Sock 6-4 7-6 in 90 minutes.
The last time the Swiss legend won this event was in 2011, a year before the start of his four-year Grand Slam drought, which had many concluding his best days were behind him.
Clinical
But, now 36, and making his 15th appearance here, Federer aims to add to the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles he has already won this season.
Federer hit 28 winners without offering Sock a single break point and while the 19-time major champion was not as clinical in the second set as he might have been, the win was never in doubt.
“It was really just a matter of trying to keep the ball in play,” said Federer.
“Like the first round at any tournament, you’re not used to the conditions.
“After a while, you’re happy to hit some good shots and focus on your serve.
“I got off to a good start. The second set was tighter but I am really happy to get through.”