Hamilton aiming to win all the rest after poor start

“We are not a wounded beast. I still believe we are best team”

Lewis Hamilton will start the Chinese Grand Prix with an improbable dream; to win every Formula One race from here until the last round in Abu Dhabi.

Nineteen victories from 19 starts? Even for Hamilton that is beyond the bounds of possibility but his Shanghai statement of intent demonstrates a need to get his derailed title defence firmly back on track.

Hamilton’s chief championship protagonist Sebastian Vettel boasts a perfect record from the opening two events and holds a 17-point lead over the Briton.

A software glitch by Hamilton’s Mercedes team cost him a certain victory in Australia last month, while one week ago in Bahrain, a grid penalty after a gearbox change ruled him out of contention.

“We are only two races into the new season but I arrived here thinking I want to win the next 19,” Hamilton said yesterday.

“I know the title is not won and lost in two races but I don’t want to fall any further behind.

“I feel hungry, we are not a wounded beast, and I still believe we are the best team.”

He completed a practice double, ending both sessions at the top of the order after delivering an ominous warning to his rivals.

But Hamilton’s slim advantage over Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at an overcast Shanghai International Circuit suggests the Mercedes driver may not have it all his own way this weekend.

While defending champion Hamilton was a third of a second clear of Raikkonen in the day’s opening running, the margin at the conclusion of the second session stood at only .017sec.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third, just .033sec off the pace, while Vettel was also only .1sec down.