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HAMILTON REFUSES TO FEEL DEFLATED
Lewis Hamilton has vowed to keep fighting after being "absolutely blown away" by his latest tyre failure.
Hamilton was coasting to second behind pole-to-flag winner Mark Webber in the Spanish Grand Prix when, on the penultimate lap, he suffered a suspected left-front tyre rim failure that caused a puncture.
Hamilton's McLaren was immediately pitched into the gravel and on into a tyre barrier from which he fortunately emerged unscathed.
The 25-year-old was robbed of 18 precious points, and instead of heading to next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix a point behind championship leader and team-mate Jenson Button, he is 21 adrift.
As Hamilton has discovered to his cost in the past, Formula One can be a cruel sport.
In qualifying for the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring a puncture led to Hamilton hurtling into a tyre wall at 180mph, and then at that year's Turkish Grand Prix another puncture relegated him to fifth.
"It was a similar feeling to what happened at the Nurburgring," said Hamilton.
"This is my third or fourth tyre blow out in my career. More than most people have in their whole lifetime.
"There was no warning, the car felt great, so it was a surprise and a very disappointing end to the race.
"Up until that point it was pretty positive. I was just cruising to the finish line and heading for some great points.
"It was looking like a great job for us, but then it's never over until its over.
"Eighteen points and I'd have been right back in the championship battle, but as it is, I'm a little bit further back now.
"So I'm absolutely blown away that something happened on the last two laps of the race, but that's motor racing.
"You just have to keep your chin up and look forward."
Admitting the incident was "a reality check", Hamilton also adopted a philosophical outlook, appreciating these are still early days in the title race with another 14 grands prix to come.
"The team did an incredible job," added Hamilton.
"It was great to come here and make such a good step forward, and second would have been perfect for the team in the constructors' and drivers' championships.
"But there are many more races to go, so the guys shouldn't be hard on themselves because we can still fight for the championship."
Assessing his prospects for next weekend's race in Monaco, Hamilton said: "To split the Red Bulls was a real positive step for us.
"Going into the next race we will be very close to them and I hope I can challenge for a win."
It was also a bitterly frustrating day for world champion Button as he started fifth, but dropped to sixth after his pit stop due to a delay sparked by his clutch dragging, resulting in wheel spin and his crew unable to fit his rear tyres.
The 30-year-old then emerged behind Michael Schumacher, and despite a number of attempts to pass the 41-year-old in his Mercedes into turn one, Button never managed to make a move stick.
"As everyone knows, it's almost impossible to overtake around here, and Michael was moving about a bit to make sure I couldn't get past," said Button.
"That was frustrating because the pace of my car was really good, but that doesn't make any difference if you can't overtake.
"I was trying so hard to get past that I damaged my tyres quite a bit.
"Fifth wasn't the result we wanted, and it wasn't the result we really deserved either because we were pretty quick.
"I guess you could say that was both a positive and a negative because I couldn't get to use that pace fully today."
:thum:
Lewis Hamilton has vowed to keep fighting after being "absolutely blown away" by his latest tyre failure.
Hamilton was coasting to second behind pole-to-flag winner Mark Webber in the Spanish Grand Prix when, on the penultimate lap, he suffered a suspected left-front tyre rim failure that caused a puncture.
Hamilton's McLaren was immediately pitched into the gravel and on into a tyre barrier from which he fortunately emerged unscathed.
The 25-year-old was robbed of 18 precious points, and instead of heading to next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix a point behind championship leader and team-mate Jenson Button, he is 21 adrift.
As Hamilton has discovered to his cost in the past, Formula One can be a cruel sport.
In qualifying for the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring a puncture led to Hamilton hurtling into a tyre wall at 180mph, and then at that year's Turkish Grand Prix another puncture relegated him to fifth.
"It was a similar feeling to what happened at the Nurburgring," said Hamilton.
"This is my third or fourth tyre blow out in my career. More than most people have in their whole lifetime.
"There was no warning, the car felt great, so it was a surprise and a very disappointing end to the race.
"Up until that point it was pretty positive. I was just cruising to the finish line and heading for some great points.
"It was looking like a great job for us, but then it's never over until its over.
"Eighteen points and I'd have been right back in the championship battle, but as it is, I'm a little bit further back now.
"So I'm absolutely blown away that something happened on the last two laps of the race, but that's motor racing.
"You just have to keep your chin up and look forward."
Admitting the incident was "a reality check", Hamilton also adopted a philosophical outlook, appreciating these are still early days in the title race with another 14 grands prix to come.
"The team did an incredible job," added Hamilton.
"It was great to come here and make such a good step forward, and second would have been perfect for the team in the constructors' and drivers' championships.
"But there are many more races to go, so the guys shouldn't be hard on themselves because we can still fight for the championship."
Assessing his prospects for next weekend's race in Monaco, Hamilton said: "To split the Red Bulls was a real positive step for us.
"Going into the next race we will be very close to them and I hope I can challenge for a win."
It was also a bitterly frustrating day for world champion Button as he started fifth, but dropped to sixth after his pit stop due to a delay sparked by his clutch dragging, resulting in wheel spin and his crew unable to fit his rear tyres.
The 30-year-old then emerged behind Michael Schumacher, and despite a number of attempts to pass the 41-year-old in his Mercedes into turn one, Button never managed to make a move stick.
"As everyone knows, it's almost impossible to overtake around here, and Michael was moving about a bit to make sure I couldn't get past," said Button.
"That was frustrating because the pace of my car was really good, but that doesn't make any difference if you can't overtake.
"I was trying so hard to get past that I damaged my tyres quite a bit.
"Fifth wasn't the result we wanted, and it wasn't the result we really deserved either because we were pretty quick.
"I guess you could say that was both a positive and a negative because I couldn't get to use that pace fully today."
:thum: