- 16 Nov 14, 17:56#425751
It would seem that Hamilton is in agreement:
, Jonathan Noble wrote:">Lewis Hamilton: Points lead 'zero comfort' in F1 2014 title battle
Lewis Hamilton says he takes zero comfort from his points advantage going into the 2014 Formula 1 season finale, even though second place would make him champion.
With his Mercedes F1 team so dominant this season, shadowing team-mate Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi should on paper be fairly straightforward for Hamilton.
But Hamilton says that the shadow of double points leaves him on edge, as if he retires, Rosberg can be champion by finishing fifth.
"There is zero comfort going into the next race because it's 50 points to gain and that's never happened in Formula 1 before," said Hamilton.
"It just so happens to be this season and, in the last race you never know what's going to happen. So I'm going to the last race to win."
Hamilton believed he could have won the Brazilian Grand Prix if he had not spun in the middle of the race as he pushed hard to try to get past Nico Rosberg during a pitstop window.
A triumph at Interlagos would have been enough to give him a 31-point lead heading into Abu Dhabi.
Even so, Hamilton says that he has no regrets about what happened, and will not rue the moment as decisive even if he loses the title.
"I don't think I'd made any mistakes in a race [in 2014] as far as I can remember," he said.
"That was a mistake but I'm not going to look back on it, it's done and dusted.
"I'm not leaving with any regrets. It's seven points [lost] but I still got second."
After the agony of defeat, success will be sweet!
It is good to have real inside F1 insight from a race hardened, experienced driver to help us better understand the difficult challenges facing the drivers in Abu Dhabi.
It just shows how hard it will be for the eventual winner to actually get it done. Routine 1-2 finishes are not routine at all even when you are driving a 2 sec a lap faster super engined car. So many thing can go wrong and McNish also pointed out what I had suspected and posted about earlier that Hamilton faces a particular challenge on how he approaches the race. He is obviously so astute!
Alan McNish: "Hamilton could easily find himself in that situation. So he has to go there with the attitude to win, but be ready to shadow Rosberg if he has to. His problem is that if you play the percentage game too much it often bites you back. All it takes is a puncture and it could be game over.
Hamilton being who he is, if he is behind Rosberg and feels he is faster, he will try to overtake. He won't be able to help himself, because there is no better way to win a championship than by winning the race that decides it."
Does he go for pole and try to race from the front to the win or does he play the percentages and just try to follow his adversary. My opinion is that he needs to push for the win and forget about a 'safe' run to second. If he has adversity during the race then he can always fall back on his backup plan and stick to Rosberg's rear wing.
ps. Also so much is said about the scoring system including the double point race being a disadvantage to Hamilton when actually it is his advantage when compared to the scoring system the last two times he started the last race while in the lead of the championship in 2007 and 2008. Under the previous scoring system Hamilton would only have a 1 point lead right now,136 - 135, and would have to actually beat Rosberg to take the wdc! This race is luxury in comparison.
Check out this table. Note that Brazil results haven't been entered yet.
http://f1.dg42.net/?year=2014&show=points2010
It would seem that Hamilton is in agreement:
, Jonathan Noble wrote:">Lewis Hamilton: Points lead 'zero comfort' in F1 2014 title battle
Lewis Hamilton says he takes zero comfort from his points advantage going into the 2014 Formula 1 season finale, even though second place would make him champion.
With his Mercedes F1 team so dominant this season, shadowing team-mate Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi should on paper be fairly straightforward for Hamilton.
But Hamilton says that the shadow of double points leaves him on edge, as if he retires, Rosberg can be champion by finishing fifth.
"There is zero comfort going into the next race because it's 50 points to gain and that's never happened in Formula 1 before," said Hamilton.
"It just so happens to be this season and, in the last race you never know what's going to happen. So I'm going to the last race to win."
Hamilton believed he could have won the Brazilian Grand Prix if he had not spun in the middle of the race as he pushed hard to try to get past Nico Rosberg during a pitstop window.
A triumph at Interlagos would have been enough to give him a 31-point lead heading into Abu Dhabi.
Even so, Hamilton says that he has no regrets about what happened, and will not rue the moment as decisive even if he loses the title.
"I don't think I'd made any mistakes in a race [in 2014] as far as I can remember," he said.
"That was a mistake but I'm not going to look back on it, it's done and dusted.
"I'm not leaving with any regrets. It's seven points [lost] but I still got second."
After the agony of defeat, success will be sweet!
Such a nice problem to have.
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