> Lewis: I'll come back stronger next year

Lewis Hamilton is already putting the disappointment of losing the world championship behind him and has vowed to come back even stronger next year.

The 22-year-old Briton led the points standings for most of the season and went into the Interlagos finale aiming to become the first rookie title winner since the world championship was launched in 1950.

But a sequence of events including a poor start, a temporary gearbox glitch and an extra pit stop compared to most of his rivals shattered the McLaren driver’s dreams and handed the title to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton did his best to mask his disappointment and put a brave face on his defeat after Sunday’s race.

“I went into it thinking that whatever happens today, it has been a phenomenal year,” he said.

“Who’d have thought I’d be leading the world championship going into the final race?

“With a little luck I might have done it but it’s a great feeling to have been in that position.

“The team has done a phenomenal job all year, absolutely amazing.

“We all wanted to win the Rugby World Cup and the F1 world championship, but it obviously wasn’t to be England’s turn this weekend.

“But it’s my first year of F1 and next year we’ll bounce back even stronger, for sure.”

It was the gearbox problem on lap eight that all but snuffed out Hamilton’s chances.

He was braking for turn four at the end of the back straight when the car selected neutral, and by the time the team had instructed him via radio how to reset the ‘box, he had tumbled to 18th place.

“It took 30 seconds for us to study the data and work out how to deal with the computer and instruct Lewis,” explained McLaren team boss Ron Dennis.

“It is not the sort of thing which he could have been expected to do on his own and it is that, and only that, which cost him the world championship.

“We have had first-class reliability over the season and it is just unfortunate that we suffered at that particular moment.”

Hamilton said he was still feeling confident after dropping from second to fourth at the start and then to eighth with a mistake further round the opening lap.

“To be honest I didn’t get a great start to the race,” he said.

“I locked up to avoid hitting Fernando and ran a bit wide.

“I was quite relaxed when I came back on because I knew I had the pace to get back my position, but I was downshifting into turn four and the car just selected neutral.

“I coasted for some time.

“From then on I had to manage the engine temperature as well, so I was running quite low rpm at times.”

He mounted a determined recovery drive, but a switch to super-soft tyres at the first pit stop didn’t pay off and he had to make three stops whereas most of his rivals pitted only twice.

In finishing seventh he fell two places short of the target he needed to beat Raikkonen to the title.

“I only felt it was over when I saw the chequered flag,” he said.

“I never stopped pushing and just kept trying as hard as I could to the end.

“I was told at the start I could still get it and I believed that.

“Pace-wise we weren’t too bad, although not as good as the Ferraris – but that’s down to the way we were running our engine.”

Hamilton admitted to feeling “emotional” but preferred to accentuate the positives from his remarkable rookie campaign rather than dwell on the disappointment.

“When the car was coasting I just felt that someone, somewhere, didn’t want me to win the title,” he said.

“But that’s racing.

“To think I’ve come from GP2 to be ranked number two in the world is a positive thing and I know we’ll be strong next year.

“We’ll do a better job, for sure, and I can’t wait.

“I feel a little bit emotional but I just can’t deny the fact it’s been an incredible season.

“But Kimi has done a great job all year and drove very well today so he deserves his success.

“I honestly can’t say I’m really gutted, because I’m not.

“After a year without problems, it’s just unfortunate that we had a little one today.

“The car was phenomenal during the race.

“Apart from the first lap I think I drove one of my best races, so I can’t be disappointed.

“Everyone has had their fair share of bad luck this year, but most of mine has all come at the end.”


Source: itv-f1

Hamilton takes positives from season

Lewis Hamilton put a brave face on his title defeat in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British ace could have become the first rookie to win the Formula 1 world championship, and the youngest ever title-winner, but instead had to watch Kimi Raikkonen grab the crown after a disastrous race at Interlagos.

The first blow came when Hamilton slipped from second to fourth by the first corner - passed by both his title rivals Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

He then lost four more places when he slid off the road at the Descida do Lago after trying to go around the outside of Alonso to reclaim third.

But he still had a chance of salvaging the points he required until a gearbox fault slowed his McLaren to a crawl on lap eight.

By the time he could engage a gear, Hamilton had plummeted to 18th place, and despite a swashbuckling recovery drive, he could only get back to seventh.

"Obviously I am pretty disappointed with the result today, having led for so much of the season and then not to win the championship," Hamilton said.

"However I have to put the result into perspective, this is only my first year in Formula 1 and overall it has just been phenomenal.

"I am still very young and have plenty more years in me to achieve my dream of becoming world champion."

He paid tribute to the McLaren team, which had supported his career since karting and took a gamble on promoting him straight from GP2 into a race seat after his title win in the feeder class last year.

"I have to thank absolutely everyone in the team for everything they have done for me this year, without them and all their hard work I wouldn’t have even been in this position today," Lewis said.

Source: itv0f1