Hamilton in assertive mood
Lewis Hamilton is in a mood to assert his authority in the F1 title race against Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. Paul Weaver reports.
COLORADO, WITH its snowcapped ski resorts, whitewater rivers and Rocky Mountain National Park, is hardly a place without compelling distractions. But, according to friends, Lewis Hamilton has returned to Europe from his summer holiday focused as he has rarely been before.
Hamilton has targeted the next six weeks, which will feature races in Belgium tomorrow morning, followed by those in Italy, Singapore and Japan, as the pivotal phase of this year’s Formula One world championship.
It’s a two-car title race between Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who leads by 11 points with eight grands prix to go. And the British driver is also invigorated by the notion that his wretched luck during the first half of the season has now turned. There was certainly some neurosis-balming good fortune to accompany his brilliance in the last round in Hungary at the end of July, when he beat Rosberg.
After that race Hamilton spoke with a hyper-kinetic energy about his performance. Now he appears to be in the mood to assert his authority – that of the fastest driver as well as a former world champion – on Mercedes and the 2014 season.
In truth, the handcuffed closeness of Hamilton and Rosberg in the season so far would suggest the championship is more likely to be decided in Austin or Brazil – the penultimate race – but hopefully not in the double-pointer farce that will be the final event in Abu Dhabi on November 23, a desperate contrivance that will represent a low point in Formula One.
Rosberg, winner of four races this year and second in five more, cannot be underestimated. He is as dedicated as a pilgrim. People said Michael Schumacher would blow him away when the seven-times world champion signed for Mercedes in 2010. Then everyone claimed that Hamilton would be simply too fast for the German, but once again he has stood up to the onslaught from a greater talent.
Hamilton, however, must be favourite at this stage. Those who dismiss him as an out and out speedster fail to pay credit to his consummate skill. And despite his emotional nature, he is also a tougher cookie than many people give him credit for. But the next two to three months will go a long way to defining his entire career.
Behind both drivers there is the formidable team. A leading Mercedes player told the Guardian that a couple of years ago the company ‘‘had had enough of a sticky drinks company dominating F1,’’ referring to Red Bull, and had decided to do whatever was required to bring that epoch of dominance to an end. The results speak for themselves.
Behind Hamilton and Rosberg there is much to play for in the final three months of the season. Kimi Raikkonen, with a best finish of sixth, has been a desperate disappointment at Ferrari, albeit in a poor car, and must perform now if he is to dispel speculation that the Italian team might pay off his contract for the second time in his career.
Then there is the contest to finish top dog at McLaren, currently an almost unbelievable sixth in the constructors’ championship. McLaren and Honda – who will be providing the Woking team’s engines next year – are desperate to make a big signing, with the disillusioned Fernando Alonso a target.
Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen may be competing for one place next year, though the likelihood is that both will be retained. After a disappointing season, Magnussen has picked up his game in recent races.
Away from the track, a turmoil of speculation about the sport’s future continues. Bernie Ecclestone is back in charge (he will claim he has never been away) after paying a record $NZ120 milllion to end his bribery trial in Germany. In a separate civil case in London, a high court judge said it was ‘‘impossible to regard [Mr Ecclestone] as a reliable or truthful witness’’.
It is that, and not what happened in the Munich case that followed, which wounded Ecclestone, who turns 84 in October, badly, and perhaps fatally. The German media group Constantin Medien, which lost that case, is fighting on, alleging that F1’s sale to CVC was undervalued.
CVC, which is F1’s largest shareholder with 35%, is being urged to sell up. But even if CVC remains it could decide to move on from Ecclestone, as some board members are urging.
The sport is also in need of a stronger sense of direction from its ruling body, the FIA, according to the majority of teams in the paddock.
For now, though, the focus returns to the track.