Hamilton’s conspiracy theory
“Poor Lewis Hamilton,” said Kate Walker on ESPN. The three-time world champion was enjoying a commanding lead in the Malaysia Grand Prix on Sunday, only to suffer an engine blowout with 15 laps to go. Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen finished first and second respectively, while Hamilton’s title rival, Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, came in third, opening up a 23-point championship lead with five races remaining.
Hamilton was “understandably furious”, said Kevin Eason in The Times. He has now had three engine blowouts this season; Rosberg hasn’t had one. After the race, the British driver even suggested that he was “starting to believe those social media accusations that this Formula 1 season is being sabotaged”. The conspiracy theorists – who claim that Mercedes, a German team, are rigging things “to favour a German driver” – will be “harder to silence now”.
The idea that Mercedes would sabotage one of their own cars is as crazy as it is implausible, said Andrew Benson on BBC Sport online. And once he’d cooled down, Hamilton sensibly did back away from the claim. Can he still win the title? It’s a huge ask, but he’s “more than capable”. “He won six races out of seven from May to July this year. Ten of the first 16 in 2015. And in 2014, four of the first five.” If he does beat the odds, “it would almost certainly be his greatest achievement”.