Hamilton recovered from a slow start from his fifth pole position at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to claim his fifth win on his favourite track. PHOTO: AFP
MONTREAL: Lewis Hamilton would not have put money on his title fortunes turning around so quickly but the Mercedes driver could be back on top of the Formula One world championship as early as next weekend.
Victory in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, following the Briton’s fortunate win in Monaco two weeks earlier, transformed his chances of ending the season with a fourth drivers’ crown.
From being 43 points behind German teammate Nico Rosberg two races ago, Hamilton heads for Azerbaijan and Sunday’s inaugural grand prix in Baku trailing by just nine.
Hamilton’s Monaco win raises mechanics’ morale
Rosberg won the opening four rounds of the season but his form has taken a dive since he and Hamilton collided in Barcelona last month. Both Mercedes drivers retired from that race, while Rosberg was seventh in Monaco and fifth in Canada.
“If I’d wanted to have put money down, I would never have tried to predict that,” Hamilton told reporters when asked about the turnaround. “I thought Monaco in terms of the difference in position might have been a one-off. It doesn’t feel great when we don’t finish one-two. On the flip side, it is a positive in terms of the points but Nico is going to continue to push and I will continue to push.”
Hamilton dismissed suggestions that Rosberg was feeling the pressure, responding: “What would lead you to think he has been rattled? I don’t get that sense. I think he is still pushing but we are starting to have cleaner weekends.”
Hamilton bags first win in six months in Monaco
Vettel vexed by ‘suicidal’ seagulls
Sebastian Vettel, who came second, offered one of Formula One’s more exotic excuses by saying he had lost time in the Canadian Grand Prix by saving two seagulls from being flattened by his Ferrari.
“I think it was a couple that wanted to commit suicide,” said the German with a smile after finishing second to Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton at a chilly Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. “By the time Lewis came around, they just flew off. Wasn’t fair. I brake for animals, Lewis doesn’t ...”
Spanish Grand Prix: Hamilton outpaces Rosberg in qualifying
Vettel insisted he had a case, even if he then undermined it by stating, “I’m a racing driver, so I have to find some sort of excuse for why the hell you [Hamilton] beat me today.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2016.
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