Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of his luck at the last race in Singapore, but the Briton will not need reminding of just how fickle fortune can be as he heads into this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix
Formula One
Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of his luck at the last race in Singapore, but the Briton will not need reminding of just how fickle fortune can be as he heads into this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver came away from the floodlit race through the streets of the city-state with a 28-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel, after capitalising on an opening-lap crash for his Ferrari rival to score an unexpected third consecutive win. With the gap between the pair the biggest it has been all year, Vettel will have to win four of the remaining six races, with Hamilton finishing second, just to even the score again.
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Mercedes's British driver Lewis Hamilton talks to journalists inside the team's hospitality box ahead of the Formula One Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang on September 28, 2017. Pic/AFP
The 32-year-old though -- who won't need to win another race to clinch the title if he triumphs on Sunday with Vettel lower than second – will not be taking anything for granted, as he returns to the scene of a heart-breaking twist that wrecked his title hopes last year. "Honestly, I think it's going to be very close in the next races," said the triple champion, who has won every race since the summer break, after scoring his 60th career victory in Singapore. "...We've just got to stay on our toes and keep trying to extract everything out of this car." Hamilton was leading last year's Malaysian race by a dominant margin and was poised to regain the overall lead from team-mate Nico Rosberg, when a blown engine forced him out. The setback cost him the title as, despite fighting back with four wins from the next five races, he was powerless to stop Rosberg cruising to the title. Mercedes, sponsored by Malaysian state-owned oil giant Petronas, are expecting the layout of the Sepang circuit to suit their car better than the tight twists of Singapore. But, like the Marina Bay track, they have a mixed record there.
The reigning champions, who are 102 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors' standings, have won just one of the last three races in Malaysia since the introduction of the 1.6 litre turbo-hybrid engines. Vettel, meanwhile, has a record four wins at Sepang to Hamilton's one. He desperately needs a fifth on Sunday to prop up his now flagging title hopes. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the four-time champion said he had moved on from the Singapore crash and wasn't fazed by the deficit to Hamilton that he now faces. "I think it depends on the points you have at the end of the year or not," said Vettel who clinched his maiden title in 2010 despite having been 31 points behind Hamilton six races from the finish. "I think we have a lot of races left, I think we have a strong car. I'm not too fussed about the amount of points."
Red Bull cashed in on Hamilton's misfortune in Malaysia last year. Daniel Ricciardo led Max Verstappen, celebrating his 20th birthday tomorrow, in a one-two finish for the former champions. With rain an ever-present threat in Malaysia, the Milton Keynes-based squad could find themselves in the frame again. Sunday's race will also be Malaysia's last. The country has been a fixture on the calendar since 1999. But organisers, who originally had a contract to host the race until 2018, have decided to call time on it a year early due to declining ticket sales, viewership and tourism.
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