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Long way to go yet, says bubbly Lewis Hamilton
David Smith, Evening Standard29 Sep 2008
Lewis Hamilton today claimed the Formula One title chase is far from over, even though he goes into the final three races holding a seven-point lead over nearest challenger Felipe Massa.
Hamilton fears he can still fall victim to the same catalogue of errors that meant neither Massa nor his Ferrari team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, managed to score in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Massa could only trail in 13th after losing time when he was released from a pit stop with the fuel hose still attached to his car.
Any lingering hopes Raikkonen might have entertained of successfully defending his championship ended when he crashed four laps from the finishing line.
After finishing F1's historic first night-race in third place for McLaren behind the victorious Renault of Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg in his Williams, Hamilton said: "We're definitely not going to get ahead of ourselves. Anything can happen. We'll just focus on doing a solid job and scoring more points."
Looking ahead to the next Grand Prix in Japan on Sunday week, he added: "I have no doubt we have a competitive package to compete with Ferrari, but it is going to be a very tough battle."
The cause of Hamilton's concern was the pace of Massa both in qualifying where the Brazilian romped to pole position, and in the race which he was controlling from the front before being hit by that pit stop farce.
Massa said: "It is hard to deal with losing in this fashion. It was a race that was within our grasp with a car that was just the way I wanted.
"We had a good strategy and all the signs were there that we could get a one-two finish. But things can change in a moment.
"At the pit stop one of our guys made a mistake but we are only human, we can all make mistakes. The important thing is we still have the potential to do well, and we're going to give the championship our best shot. We mustn't give up, and I'm sure we won't."
However, Raikkonen has given up on his own title challenge. The Finn lost concentration in the dying moments of the race and glanced the barrier at the circuit's chicane.
The loss of a certain fifth place leaves Raikkonen 27 points behind Hamilton with a maximum of 30 to be won.
Conceding his crown, Raikkonen said: "It was a pretty small chance anyway. I have not had the season I wanted."
The night race was hailed such a brilliant success that other Grands Prix may be switched from their traditional afternoon start times.
McLaren chief Ron Dennis said: "Everything has been proven. We can take this model to anywhere in the world to make a Grand Prix more spectacular."
Reader views (1)
Firstly, I would like to say how pleased I am that Nico Rosberg got his runners up place - He is one of the nicest drivers in F1 and has done a brilliant job with an under performing team. But can someone please explain why it took 3 or 4 laps for his 10 second stop go penalty to be enforced after he made a pit stop under the safety car. This is not a question of sour grapes - more a question of who these people are that seem to be in charge of the race decisions. The rules are very clear - if you stop under the safety car you are penalised. So why did it take the bumbling race controllers another 3 or 4 laps after it had gone back to green flag racing to impose the penalty (and then give him another 3 laps before he had to take it?). During this time he had a clear track and took advantage of it by pulling out a massive amount of time which enabled him to stay ahead of Hamilton. Let's hope the championship doesn't come down to two points at the end of the season - although I somehow suspect it will.....
- Dl, London, 29/09/2008 10:18
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