WHAT A KNIGHT
Hamilton on the verge of glory, but is Sir Lewis out of the question right now?
THE nights counting down to Lewis Hamilton’s almost certain fourth world-title triumph have not been entirely without disturbance. Fire crackers as loud as bombs are perforating the early hours of each morning, part of the Day of the Dead festival.
If not here at the Mexican Grand Prix, on a track seething with passion almost as noisy as the nocturnal explosions, then either in Sao Paulo or the Scalextric track of Abu Dhabi, the 32-year-old product of a Stevenage council estate will, at least statistically, stand above every Briton who ever turned the wheel of a Formula One car.
Which brings us to the prizes Hamilton can expect: a bonus of a couple or so million from his Mercedes contract, even greater latitude within a team that has avowedly allowed him the freest possible rein, and expanded global fame.
He would also emerge as the greatest British sportsman of his time. Andy Murray, for all his fabulous ability as a tennis player, is only the fourth best player of his era, albeit during a golden age.
Mo Farah warrants consideration, but the absence of a world record on his CV counts against him.
But of that holy trinity, Hamilton is the only one without a knighthood. An insufficient MBE follows his name, a gong equal to that held by David Coulthard, a multiple grand prix winner but lacking a single title triumph. Nigel Mansell, a lionhearted one-time champion, has a CBE. Hamilton is due an upgrade.
Hamilton may be about to take the F1 crown again but he was made to settle for third on the grid last night as Sebastian Vettel kept his ultra slim world championship hopes alive by storming to pole position.
Max Verstappen appeared on course to become Formula One’s youngest ever pole sitter only for Vettel to beat the Red Bull driver with the final lap of a dramatic qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 66 points with just three grands prix remaining, must finish either first or second in today’s race to stand any chance of taking the championship battle on to the penultimate round in Brazil.
But despite Hamilton’s relatively lowly grid slot, the Briton needs to cross the line only fifth to seal his fourth crown tonight.
Hamilton has been in blistering form since the summer break after winning five of the six grands prix staged, including a dominant victory in Austin, Texas last weekend.
But the British driver has his work cut out to secure his fourth world championship in style after a rousing performance from Vettel.
The German delivered a dizzying time at a track which is more than 2,300 metres above sea level, to edge out Verstappen by just eight hundredths of a second and claim the 50th pole of his career.
Hamilton was nearly half a second further back in third with his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas fourth on the grid.
Hamilton however, could be bumped up to second with Verstappen under investigation from the stewards for allegedly blocking Bottas earlier in qualifying.
Verstappen was controversially stripped of his podium finish last Sunday in Austin after he was penalised for an illegal last-lap overtake on Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen finished fifth in the order ahead of Force India’s Esteban Ocon, with Daniel Ricciardo a disappointing seventh.
‘Congrats to Sebastian on reaching 50 poles,’ said Hamilton. ‘I tried to deny him but it wasn’t to be. It was a difficult session and it has been a difficult weekend.
‘They did a great job and their car was working better than ours, but I am still there in the fight.
‘The race pace is good so I am not worried about that, but you can’t overtake here. There is a long way down to turn one so we should have some fun tomorrow.’