Lewis Hamilton vows to stay on the attack with a winning mentality in Brazil
Title leader also pays an emotional tribute to Jenson Button with former team-mate set to be replaced at McLaren by Fernando Alonso
Tuesday 25 November 2014 17:54, UK
Lewis Hamilton insists he won’t be adopting a specific game plan for the deciding two rounds of the F1 World Championship and made clear he wants to clinch the title by winning both races.
Mercedes’ championship-leading driver stands potentially two weeks away from ending his six-year wait for a second drivers’ title thanks to a purple patch of winning form. And although the uniqueness of the little-loved double points finale of Abu Dhabi at the end of the month means Hamilton can’t secure the crown in Brazil this weekend despite currently holding a 24-point lead over Nico Rosberg, a sixth straight win at Interlagos would put the Briton on the brink.
Hamilton has twice before been in such leading positions late in the season. However, the 29-year-old's experiences of 2007 and 2008 contrast sharply given he missed out on the first occasion but then won the title in dramatic last-gasp fashion 12 months later.
With the chance to win the World Championship now again in his own hands, Hamilton says while he has learnt from those past lessons, he won’t simply be driving for points.
“These next races, I can’t approach any differently. I’m not going into these next races thinking ‘I’ve got to finish second’, although of course l should keep that in the back of my mind,” he told Sky Sports News HQ.
“In 2007, when I was leading the World Championship, I could have just finished fifth, but I wanted to win and it resulted in losing the World Championship.
“I’ve learnt from those things, but ultimately I’m here to approach it the same as I have the previous races. I want to win – and it will definitely make it easier if l do.”
In both 2007 and 2008 Hamilton required only fifth-place finishes in the then Interlagos decider to clinch the crown and even this year the 29-year-old doesn’t necessarily need to win in either Brazil or Abu Dhabi to see off Rosberg’s challenge.
But, given he’s on a career-best win of five straight victories, Hamilton has outlined his determination to continue that run over the final weeks of the season.
“I approach this race the same as the last few races and the whole season really. I want to win. I’ve never been one to want to win the World Championship by not winning – I want to win [the race] when I win the World Championship rather than finish fifth or wherever it may be,” Hamilton added in a later press briefing with reporters.
“But of course it’s probably the most intense part of the year. Coming here this time round I feel much different than perhaps I was in 2007 and 2008.
“I feel just excited, I feel relaxed. We’ve got a great car and a great team and as long as we continue to do what we have done in previous races and learn from last weekend because it wasn’t perfect, if I can take that into this weekend and improve again that’ll be a real positive.”
Having at one stage this season appeared likely to represent Hamilton’s championship safety-net, the controversial ‘Abu Double’ format could now dramatically spin the title away from the Briton should he run into trouble at Yas Marina in a fortnight’s time.
Asked if he was having nightmares about the decider, the Briton joked: “No, my dreams are usually about ladies – Nicole! I don’t really dream much about racing!
“There are lots of questions about this whole double points thing. It’s the same for everyone. No other championship has had it so it’s a bit odd this year, but it is what it is and whether or not they keep it in the future, who knows.”
One aspect of the 2015 season that is looking increasingly in doubt is the presence on the grid of Hamilton's former team-mate Jenson Button. With Fernando Alonso poised to return to McLaren, Button strongly hinted on Thursday that both his McLaren - and F1 - career could come to a close after the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton formed an all-British World Champion partnership for three seasons with Button at McLaren prior to leaving for Mercedes and has express his dismay at the prospect of his countryman leaving the sport.
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"How do you measure losing a great legendary driver? He is one of the top drivers here and one of the nicest guys in the paddock," Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ.
"I had a great time working with him in the past and our friendship has grown a lot, particularly since we went into different teams because that made it a lot easier! Buy I’m a huge admirer of what he has achieved and I hope that he stays. There’s got to be space for him, there has to be space for him."
