Pressure’s on for Hamilton
‘IT’S not a conspiracy… it’s paranoia.’
Toto Wolff couldn’t have been more forthright when responding to claims that Mercedes’ drastic slump in Singapore could have anything to do to with Pirelli.
But two weeks after both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were called to the stewards in Italy over alleged illegal tyre pressures, the duo slumped to the third row of the grid under the lights last night.
Hamilton, who had qualified on pole in 11 out of 12 races heading into this weekend, finished in fifth and well over a second behind the quickest man around the streets, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. It’s suspicious, if nothing else.
‘We didn’t do anything dodgy [in Monza],’ team chief Wolff insisted. ‘It was cleared by the FIA. We were well within the limits. It was clear we followed the procedures and we ticked box after box. The Pirelli limits were no contributing factor to our performance today.’
Hamilton and Rosberg were both perplexed by the pace deficit, as Ferrari and Red Bull stormed in front of their usually dominant rivals. If the British world champion is going to emulate his hero Ayrton Senna on 41 wins here tonight, he’ll have to do it the hard way.
He has led from the front all season, as his 53point lead in the standings suggests. This is a sudden, drastic loss of performance for Mercedes, and even Hamilton couldn’t quite put his finger on the problem.
‘I’m challenging my team to find out what it is, whether it’s tyre pressures, or temperatures or blankets or ride heights. There is no reason why I can’t win from fifth. But the guys ahead have been quicker all weekend, through every session.’
Hamilton will have to go back to his roots and overtake from further back if he is to ‘carry the baton’ for Senna after tonight like he intended. Daniil Kvyat, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo will be eager to shut him out from lap one.
Vettel’s pace last night was staggering. He was over half a second quicker than nearest challenger Ricciardo.
‘I’m surprised by the margin, but I think it just came together,’ the German, who also has 41 grand prix victories, said.
As long as Hamilton collects some points, his march towards the title should continue. But the subject of tyre pressure at Mercedes may not disappear too quickly.