Hamilton 62 points adrift after mechanical problem wrecks his race
Sunday 14 October 2012 13:07, UK
A dejected Lewis Hamilton has conceded his hopes of winning his second world title are now over for this year after he endured a dismal Korean GP.
Team-mate Jenson Button had already been taken out of the race by Kamui Kobayashi on the opening lap and, with Ferrari finishing third and fourth, McLaren suddenly went from eyeing an assault on Red Bull to slipping behind their long-time Italian rivals in the Constructors' Championship. "We'll keep fighting to try and get as high in the Constructors' and I hope me and Jenson can have some stronger races in the next ones," Hamilton added ahead of his final four races as a McLaren driver. While McLaren's hopes of winning either of this year's titles are now effectively over, the team Hamilton has pinned his longer-term bid for that second title on, Mercedes, fared even worse in Korea, finishing outside the points in 13th. Asked if this gave him cause for concern for 2013, Hamilton did his best to insist that he wasn't yet focusing on his new team's fortunes. "I haven't seen what they had, I'm just focusing on what I've got," he replied. "We've had three failures in the last three races on my side of the garage so I hope my luck changes and we have better races in the future."
