- 17 Oct 08, 15:56#73297From autosport.com:
Hamilton says he will take no risks
By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Friday, October 17th 2008, 10:37 GMT
Lewis Hamilton says he will not take any risks during the Chinese Grand Prix, although the McLaren driver admits he will attack to try to win the race.
Hamilton arrives in China after having failed to score any points in the previous race in Japan following a penalty for his first corner move and a clash with Felipe Massa after overtaking the Brazilian.
Despite his troubled race at Fuji, the McLaren driver says he is approaching this weekend's race as usual, and insists he will be going for victory if it means not taking risks.
"We will approach it the same as always. We won't be taking risks, but we will be attacking as much as we can to win the race," Hamilton told reporters.
"If I'm in a position where we are looking to gain good points, and it's an unnecessary risk to make a manoeuvre, then I won't be doing that.
"It's always important to be fast, but it's not necessarily the fastest car that wins. Being fast is great for positioning, and maybe getting out in front, and then afterwards trying to stay calm."
The Briton admitted he is not thinking about clinching the title this weekend, but rather about redeeming himself following the race in Japan.
"My mentality is I'm not looking at winning it here," he added. "Last year I was thinking it would have been easy to have won it here in this race.
"But I'm looking at the fact I have two races and it's important we attack those two races, finish those two races.
"I'm not going into this race saying 'it has to be done now'. I just want to redeem myself from last week."
Hamilton, who faced scrutiny from rivals about his driving style today, said he was not worried about other drivers' views.
"I've not read the stuff, but I know people have made comments. That's fine with me," he said. "They have the right to their own opinion.
"It's a shame they all think that way, but my driving is why I'm here and why I'm leading the championship, so I'm not disappointed with the way I drive.
"I do my talking on the track. If other people want to expend their energy thinking about it (the way I drive), that's for them."
And the McLaren driver made it clear he did not feel everybody was against him.
"Not really. I look at previous world champions and previous seasons, and a lot of people that have been at the front have had these kind of situations.
"It's normal. I have to ride the wind and see how the result comes out in the end."
Hamilton's comments come across as slightly ambivalent, for he says that he is going to approach this race the same as the last one, but he is also not going to take any risks. Overall, his comments came together a bit more at the end, but there is still enough for McLaren and Hamilton fans to be a little bit worried about.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
Hurry Alonso and sign on.
