Lewis Hamilton hoping to build from Korea
After a run of disappointing results this season, Hamilton’s 2nd place in Yeongam came to much relief from his McLaren team. He fought off pressure from Red Bull’s Mark Webber to complete a superb defensive drive, finishing behind the double world champion Sebastian Vettel. The podium was not only his first for 6 races, but also proved to himself, the other drivers on the grid and the F1 world that there is more subtly to his driving style than many of his races this year have suggested.
Hamilton has found himself at the centre of controversy this season both on and off the track, being involved with numerous collisions and getting into trouble with comments made in post race interviews. Hamilton himself admitted earlier in the season that mistakes had been made, but he is refusing to let that become a negative saying, “I’ve got to find my way, learn from whatever mistakes have happened and try to smooth out the creases. I’ve had a few more bad days than good this year. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is.”
However many fans noticed after the qualifying session in Korea, where Hamilton took pole, the usually enthusiastic racer was more subdued than usual, with a congratulatory message issued on the radio by his team being greeted only with silence. Some read this as a loss in confidence from the 2008 world champion, who believes with his ability he should be challenging until the end for the drivers title. However Hamilton said he has never doubted himself, and has always been confident saying, “I have always felt confident in myself, regardless of how much negative talk there was around the world. I still rise above it. And that is key.”
“Every sportsman around the world has tough times – in fact every human being. And even if I finished one place down from the win, which makes me first of the losers, it’s a better position to be in than finishing anywhere else. I have to say that my fans always supported me – on facebook, on twitter and so on – and I this helped a lot and felt really special.”
Hamilton also drew attention to the affect the positive race result would have for both him and the team.
“The last six races I’ve not been anywhere near that position so it feels good to be back.”
“I am not ecstatic, but I am also happy for the team and I think that the fans will have enjoyed seeing us. Overall I have to say that I drove pretty well over the weekend, considering how much quicker their car was”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s team principle, was more complimentary of his driver saying the race was “one of his great, great drives”.
“When you have a car behind you which is frankly quicker and has DRS, to be able to hold on and hold on like that was a truly brilliant drive.”
Hamilton is now looking to build on this result towards the last few races of the season and believes that his 2nd place finish in Korea will put him in a strong position for the final 3 grand prix. When asked if he can win one of the remaining races he said “Well of course I want to build up a foundation to hopefully have some continued success and more and more finishes in this kind of position.”
“I think that there are still things that we can learn from this year’s car and there is still so much we can prove so I hope that we will get some more consistent finishes as we did here. Why not a one-two for us at the next race – that would be even better!”
