SINGAPORE // In fairness to Lewis Hamilton he has not needed much fortune this season to be sitting pretty, 41 points clear at the top of the drivers’ championship with only six races of the campaign remaining.
The Briton, combined with the Mercedes-GP F1 W06 chassis, has proven a class apart for much of the season, and his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings is deserved, having won seven of 13 races this year.
It is rare for any driver or team to have a perfect year and Mercedes had arguably their worst weekend, performance wise, since the start of 2014 in Singapore.
The German team were only the third quickest package at the Marina Bay Circuit, with both Ferrari and Red Bull Racing putting them in the shade.
Despite that, Hamilton drove well at a venue where he has won twice at in the past. He was faster than his teammate Nico Rosberg in both qualifying and the race, and was in the hunt for a podium finish as he ran fourth before a small mechanical failure led to a substantial loss of power, which ultimately caused his retirement.
Race report: Vettel goes pole to post as Hamilton retires mid-race at Singapore Grand Prix
It was not exactly a devastating setback for Hamilton, though. Rosberg only finished fourth, gaining just 12 points on the championship leader, while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who won the race, gained 25 points to close the gap to 49.
Vettel’s puncture on the penultimate lap at Belgium is looking even more costly now, as he lost 15 points with that setback. He was third at the time and if he had made it to the chequered flag at Spa Francorchamps the four-time world champion would now be only 34 points behind Hamilton, a gap much more likely to have test the Briton’s nerve as we enter the business end of the season.
Singapore was Hamilton’s first retirement of the season and if he could have picked a circumstance for it to happen, this pretty much would have been it.
Yes, Vettel gained 25 points on him, but Ferrari are yet to demonstrate they are a consistent match for Mercedes. In Hamilton’s mind, Rosberg must still remain his biggest threat.
Rosberg’s failure to capitalise fully on his teammate’s bad luck came after the German had suffered his own mechanical problem in Italy two weeks ago when his engine failed as he ran third, losing him 25 points to Hamilton as his teammate won the race. So, despite not finishing on Sunday, Hamilton has still gained 13 points on Rosberg over the past two races.
That has been the story of Rosberg’s year. Hamilton does not have many off days, but when he does Rosberg has not taken advantage.
Hamilton’s poorest display behind the wheel this year came in July at the Hungarian Grand Prix as he went off the road and collided with Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Yet the reigning world champion still gained points on Rosberg as he finished sixth to the German’s eighth.
That was down to luck, as much as anything, as Rosberg suffered a puncture when running second following his own contact with Ricciardo, but such moments can define a title challenge.
In 2014 it was Rosberg’s ability to score heavily when Hamilton had problems that helped ensure their duel went to the final round at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton failed to finish three times in 2014. Rosberg scored 61 points in those races.
Hamilton has had one non-finish and one finish outside the top five this year, but in those races his German teammate has netted only 16 points.
Rosberg needs two things to go his way in the remaining races: more mechanical problems for his teammate and to capitalise on them when they arise.
If that does not happen it is very difficult, on raw performance, not to see Hamilton leaving Abu Dhabi with his third world title on November 29. Given how things are currently going for him, even his off days are not so bad.
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