Hamilton claims pressure is all on title rival Rosberg in Malaysia
LEWIS HAMILTON believes he has “less to lose” than his sole title rival, Nico Rosberg, as he wrestles to get his stuttering championship campaign back on track.
Hamilton has been cast eight points adrift of Rosberg after seeing his Mercedes team-mate clinch a hat-trick of consecutive wins, including a crushing victory last time out in Singapore. While the Briton showed signs of a resurgence in the sweltering Malaysian heat yesterday after he clocked the fastest time in practice for tomorrow’s grand prix, it would appear imperative for him to return to winning ways in Sepang with only six rounds left.
The historical odds, however, are stacked against Hamilton. Rosberg won the opening four rounds of the season, while his latest run of victories has taken him to eight for the year. No driver has achieved such a record without going on to win the title. “Perhaps when you are in the lead it can be more positive, but the downfall can be bigger,” said Hamilton, who was one quarter of a second faster than Rosberg yesterday.
“When you are behind you have less to lose, so the hunt is potentially more exciting, but I don’t find it harder in either scenario.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes team, who have triumphed at all but one of the 15 races so far this season, are set to clinch their third consecutive constructors’ championship. And with the drivers’ title heading in the direction of either Hamilton or Rosberg, it was suggested to the British driver that Mercedes may relax their so-called ‘rules of engagement’ – introduced after he and Rosberg crashed in Austria – for the final races of the season.
“We still don’t want the drivers to collide,” Hamilton added. “There are other things in the background they could apply more efforts to. I don’t think anything is going to change if we seal the title for them this weekend. We can still go out and race, but just not collide.”
Hamilton’s best lap of one minute and 34.944 seconds yesterday saw him finish ahead of Rosberg with the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Ra i k konen third and f ou rt h respectively.
Max Verstappen celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday but the soaring Sepang heat appeared to take its toll on the teenager. He collapsed, off camera, at the back of the Red Bull garage shortly after the opening session with dehydration, but the Dutchman was soon back on his feet before posting the fifth best time in the afternoon running.