“Even in Singapore I still drove with the thought I could win, and that
will remain the same for the rest of the year.
“Realistically, he is just under 100 points ahead of me, he always wins
and he is going to continue on that curve.”
“He’s on his way to his fourth world championship,”
Hamilton, however, is far from disheartened at the sight of watching Vettel
run away with proceedings yet again.
“I actually feel really good,” said Hamilton. “I had a meeting
with my engineers after the race and it was really productive.
“Admittedly, it wasn’t the best of weekends, that’s for sure, and the
result was disappointing for us all, especially as the car felt like it was
really competitive.
“Obviously Sebastian is a long way ahead now. He’s had the perfect
weekend for many races, and we need to dissect that to see how we can adapt
or improve in certain areas so we have those weekends.
“But to see him doing what he’s doing, it’s not depressing. It’s nothing
new.
“They (Red Bull) made a step somewhere on the car this weekend, but I
still feel like we can fight at some point through the weekends for the rest
of the season.”
Whilst drivers and teams naturally fight to win, there is no disgrace in
finishing second in either championship for Mercedes and Hamilton, in the
first year of their three-season partnership.
The current campaign is by far Mercedes’ best since their return to F1 in
2010, so both team and driver are gunning for the runner-up spots.
“That’s going to be the target, but if we do what we did in Singapore
then that’s not going to happen,” added Hamilton.
“It’s no coincidence Fernando (Alonso) always ends up second, even though
he has qualified further behind.”
(Edited by Ben Bloom)