Hamilton still confident of change in momentum

F1: British driver trails team-mate in championship race

Lewis Hamilton has conceded he has “no idea” whether he will be able to wrestle the title momentum back from his sole title rival Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton will head into Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix – the first of six remaining races – eight points adrift of his Mercedes team-mate after seeing him romp to a hat-trick of victories following the summer break.

After he stormed from last to third following an engine penalty in Belgium, a poor start from Hamilton gift-wrapped victory to Rosberg in Italy, while at the last race in Singapore, an off-colour weekend contributed to Rosberg out-qualifying the British driver by a crushing seven-tenths of a second before he finished a distant third.

“Singapore was a difficult weekend for me, so to come away with a podium in the circumstances was pretty good damage limitation,” said Hamilton. “Ultimately, Nico did an exceptional job and I didn’t have my best weekend.

“I have no idea if the momentum will swing back to me or when it might. But we still have six races left, so I just have to keep giving it my all and hope for the best. That’s all you can do as a sportsman.

“It’s going to take some good results to get back in front and stay there, but I’ve had plenty of those in the past, so there’s no reason to think they won’t come back to me again.”

The Mercedes team, who have won all but one grand prix this season, could be crowned constructors’ champions for a third successive season on Sunday.

Picture: Getty. Lewis Hamilton: eight points behind with six races left.