Agencies
Mexico City:Lewis Hamilton said that another Formula One championship would be one earned by him and Mercedes — not one thrown away by Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel won the first two races of 2018 to set up what promised to be a dramatic chase for a fifth career championship between him and Hamilton. Now Hamilton’s dominant second half of the season, helped by a rash of mistakes by Vettel and Ferrari, has the Mercedes driver set to win the crown even if he finishes as low as seventh Sunday.
“I see a lot of people write a lot of stories saying things have been ‘handed’“ to Mercedes this season, Hamilton said.
“That naturally takes away from the job the team and I have done.” Vettel has taken criticism over Ferrari’s season of miscues. That includes last week at the U.S. Grand Prix, won by his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen while Vettel missed the podium.
Vettel said the driver with the most points at the end of the season deservedly wins the title. Saying another driver lost it wouldn’t be fair, he said.
“For the words to come from a four-time world champion, that’s positive to hear,” Hamilton said in advance of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
“He’s been a great competitor this year. It’s been so hot for both of us. I look forward to many more years of us racing together right at the top.”
Ferrari’s blunders certainly made Hamilton’s season easier. There have been crashes, pit stop and tire mistakes, and practice penalties that cost Ferrari wins and race position.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
