The 27-year-old Briton lies second in the standings behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso after a consummate drive in Italy brought his third win of the season and renewed hope of a second world title. But the precocious Hamilton’s off-track affairs are dominating headlines after he admitted his future was undecided at long-term employer McLaren, and a reported cooling of relations with teammate Jenson Button.
The 2008 world champion brought a sharp rebuke from Button after he tweeted sensitive team information during this month’s Belgian Grand Prix. His muted victory celebrations in Italy were widely noted. In the run-up to Singapore, the 14th of 20 races, Hamilton stressed he was ‘happy with McLaren’, but said he had not committed to any team next season, when he is out of contract. Mercedes are courting his signature. The bejewelled driver won on Singapore’s ‘darty’, demanding street circuit in 2009, but retired with a puncture in 2010 and finished fifth last year after tangling with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.
“Both those races were unlucky for me,” Hamilton told the Formula One website. “I think I need a better roll of the dice this time around.”
Alonso, meanwhile, will look to stretch his 37-point lead over Hamilton. The softly spoken Alonso has won in Malaysia, his home country Spain, and Germany, and has finished out of the points only once, when he retired in Belgium after a pile-up on the first corner.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2012.
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