Tuesday September 25, 2012
Hamilton realises he needs to win all remaining races for title
SINGAPORE: McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton admitted he needed to win all six races left this season Sunday after a “heartbreaking” retirement while leading the Singapore Grand Prix put a huge dent in his world title hopes.
The 2008 world champion was already scenting his third victory in four races after a third of the race on the skyscraper-dotted street circuit, before a gearbox failure put him out of the running.
“It’s heartbreaking not to have finished the race today,” said the McLaren driver, who started the night race from pole after a stunning lap in qualifying.
“We definitely had the pace to win this weekend.
“In fact, before I retired, I was cruising - just managing the gap back to Seb (Sebastian Vettel, who was then second).
“Then I started to experience difficulty with the gearshift, then I lost third gear, and then the ‘box kept dropping into neutral.”
Hamilton’s retirement brought gasps of disappointment from the crowd.
He went into the weekend second in the standings but now lies fourth, 52 points off the pace set by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who finished third.
“Obviously, I was disappointed, but the good thing we can take away from this weekend is that we have extremely good pace. As a result, I think we can really attack in the next few races,” Hamilton said.
“It’s going to be hard to close the gap to guys like Fernando and Sebastian (Vettel), especially when they keep finishing race after race, but I’ll never give up.
“There are six more races, and I need to go and win all six. I’ll fight until the end.” — AFP
- Gritty Indonesia give mighty China a huge scare
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- Chong Wei urges team-mates to put Cup exit behind
- BAM secretary: It all depends on Kien Keat and Boon Heong now
- Yong-dae believes luckless run in world meet will end in Guangzhou
- Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe
- Clock ticking for next golden generation
- Nicol David sails into quarter-finals of British Open in 35 minutes
- British Open: Ramy Ashour racks up 38th successive win
- British Open: Nicol David deals with disruptions for semi spot
- English tries hand Rebels first win over Waratahs
- Nadal, Djokovic on semi-final collision course in Paris
- England turn to youth to take on Barbarians
- British Open: Nicol David deals with disruptions for semi spot
- Cruden, Clarke help Chiefs claim crucial Crusaders win
- European football final adds new chapter to Adidas-Puma rivalry
- Former Giro winner Di Luca tests positive for EPO
- Jockey Ahern lodges appeal against 10-year ban
- Giro stage called off after heavy snow overnight
- Ryan Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial
RSS
