Hamilton targets dominant win in Abu Dhabi: 'It's all I can do'

Lewis Hamilton says he will try to beat teammate Nico Rosberg by as big a margin as possible in Abu Dhabi, even though it may prove futile in his pursuit of a fourth world championship.

Rosberg leads Hamilton by 12 points ahead of the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, meaning Hamilton has to hope his teammate finishes off the podium to stand a chance of winning the title. The British driver has won the last three races with convincing margins over his teammate, but Rosberg has only had to finish second each time in the knowledge that he is still on course for the title.

Faced with a title showdown that is not in his hands, Hamilton said all he can do in Abu Dhabi is try to beat Rosberg by the biggest margin possible.

"Obviously I have to continue what I'm doing," he said. "Nico's finished every single race this year apart, obviously, from Barcelona which we both didn't finish so he's had fantastic reliability, so I think right now, as the way it's going it's going to be very hard to beat him.

"That doesn't mean I can't win the race, so I'm going to take the energy I have now and the speed that I have -- which has been great these past few races -- and really try to push as hard as I can in that race to get as far ahead. It's all I can do."

Although Rosberg only has to finish third in Abu Dhabi, he said he will try to emulate his victory at Yas Marina last year.

"Well, it's going to be a great, exciting race weekend, a great battle for sure. I would like to win the race and I'm going to try and do that for sure. I've had good experience there in the past but of course that's not going to help this year.

"You know we all start from zero this year, every time we go to a different track. Yeah, feeling good so let's see."

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Why it's absurd to suggest Lewis Hamilton is being sabotaged by Mercedes

Not only is it impossible for Mercedes to sabotage Lewis Hamilton’s engines, it is not logical or desirable for a team who get far more out of Hamilton winning the championship this year than Nico Rosberg. 

The notion that they would favour a pseudo-German driver (Finnish father, German mother, born in Germany, raised in Monaco) because they are apparently a ‘German team’ – remember they are actually based in Northamptonshire – does not make sense. 

No amount of Nico winning this championship will make the same global impact as Lewis winning a fourth title. It will not take Nico to one third of the global recognition and media value that Lewis has. It just won’t. Even if Nico won four titles to Lewis’s three, it would not make him a more highly-prized asset. 

Flames can be seen coming out of Hamilton's car CREDIT: REX FEATURES

That is the first thing to say as the conspiracy theories run wild following Lewis’s engine blow-up in Sepang. If Mercedes were to injure one driver, there is no logic to it being Hamilton. Lewis winning a fourth world title is a much bigger return on investment for Mercedes than Nico. Fact.

Second, it is simply not possible that they could do it, choreographed in this way, and it is unthinkable that they ever would. I remember from my time at Red Bull and McLaren, engines were allocated by the chief mechanic pulling numbers out of a hat. I imagine Mercedes have a similar policy now, even if there are fewer engines because of the regulations. 

Sometimes in the manufacturing process you just get a bad batch. Now it is for Mercedes to come and tell people – especially an upset Lewis – how they choose their engines. 

Hamilton trudges off dejected CREDIT: REX FEATURES

When he stepped out of the car, Lewis was understandably very emotional, just as race-winner Daniel Riciardo was, but in a very different way. This championship just gets harder and harder for him. But I do not believe deep down that Lewis actually thinks the team is trying to scupper his chances. 

To me his comments in the TV pen seemed more in the heat of the moment. Remember Lewis is a religious man, so when he references “somebody doesn't want me to win” it is a normal thought for him that maybe God has decided. That’s genuine: he is and has been a religious guy for some time. But he has to move on quickly with the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. 

From a psychological rollercoaster point of view, if Lewis pulls this off it will be his biggest achievement in Formula One. I think he has absolutely got it in him to win all five. There are a few circuits you would say he’s a shoe-in; Suzuka and Austin especially. Mexico is a less meaty track so you might say that is one where Nico has a better chance. It is possible but very difficult. 

Hamilton is having a difficult time of it CREDIT: EPA

Whereas for Nico he knows he can play he percentages. He can go to Suzuka this weekend with the firm intention of just being second. That’s a hell of a different way of going qualifying and racing. It is very much Nico’s to lose now. 

People will say Nico has been lucky if he wins the title. Unless Nico beats Lewis in a straight fight, I will continue to bang my drum of: super fast, super professional, the points do not lie, but we still have not seen Nico go wheel to wheel with Lewis and come out on top. That is definitely a mark against him. Until we see it happen I will not be convinced. 

There are other sports where two guys have won a lot but never really crossed paths at the same time, so it can be difficult to judge which one was better. But that is not true of Nico and Lewis.

We did actually see some aggressive moves from Nico on Sunday, the sort I have been asking to see from him. Yes the pass on Kimi Raikkonen involved contact, but Kimi left the door open. I passed Michael Schumacher there in 1999. 

In a similar way, Nico will reflect on the start and think perhaps he went wide and cut back too sharply, giving Sebastian Vettel little time to react (that said I still think the crash was Sebastian’s responsibility). 

With Lewis out of the race, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen showed the rest how it should be done. Their duel was fantastic, and both left each other racing room. It proved decisive for Daniel to win the race. 

After the mishaps in Barcelona and Monaco, through little fault of his own, you felt Daniel deserved a win this year. None of his four career victories have been easy. But Hamilton faces an even taller order if he is to make it title number four this year. 

Lewis Hamilton voices concern over possible Halo repercussion

Lewis Hamilton fears Formula One could be left "kicking" itself if a driver gets injured in an accident that could have been prevented by the Halo cockpit protection device.

The FIA had been pushing to introduce head protection in time for next season but the F1 Strategy Group unanimously voted against introducing Halo for 2017 ahead of the German Grand Prix, allowing further time to continue to develop the concept for 2018.

When asked about his thoughts on the vote to reject the device for 2017, Hamilton said he hopes there are no unintended consequences as a result of not running Halo next year.

"I don't really know why it's not going to be there next year and that was a point that I made," he said.

"I basically had asked that if we are unfortunate enough to have an incident in the next year and a half and we knew we had a solution for it -- that would have played a role in it -- at the end of next year we are really going to be kicking ourselves."

The three-time world champion, who had previously been a critic of the device,changed his mind over Halo after viewing an FIA presentation during the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel are among the drivers who have publicly voiced their support of Halo, with Vettel stating that no argument against Halo could "justify death". Having seen the FIA demonstration portraying the benefits of Halo, Hamilton believes the concept should not be ignored.

"They've got a solution which does help and I think the great thing; the FIA have done a fantastic job in the last 20-odd years in always making increments and steps and while it doesn't look great, we know that, but that 17 percent we can't ignore.

"I just hope in that space of time when we know that we do have it and the teams can afford to put it on the cars, between now and next season, I hope in that period of time no one gets injured, including myself."

Lewis Hamilton 'surprised' with good Rosberg relationship

Lewis Hamilton says his relationship with Mercedes teammate and Formula One leader Nico Rosberg has become "surprisingly" good, thanks in part to a shared swimming pool at their Monaco apartment block.

"It's actually really good with Nico at the moment," the triple world champion told the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

"Really, really good. Surprisingly," added the Briton. "I would definitely not have expected it to be where it is."

Rosberg has won five of the eight races so far this season, including the first four, and the German is now 24 points ahead of Hamilton after also winning the first grand prix in Azerbaijan last weekend.

The pair collided in Spain, with both retiring from the race immediately, and had another minor coming together at the start in Canada.

They have been friends and rivals since their early teenage years, but the relationship was tested to breaking point as they battled for the title in 2014 and 2015 - with Hamilton triumphant both times.

In Belgium two years ago, they were barely on speaking terms after a collision.

Hamilton said the marked improvement since then was partly down to age and maturity, with Rosberg now a father, and also mutual respect and dialogue.

"Whether we're unhappy about something or not, we discuss it face to face," he said.

"If I have a problem, I knock on his door and ask if I can speak to him privately. We never address it publicly or in front of the team.

"We say straight up 'Hey man, I wasn't cool with that'. And he does that to me as often as I do to him."

Hamilton explained how he had been swimming in the communal pool in his Monaco apartment block when Rosberg came down and joined him.

"I guess he saw me from his apartment and came down and sat on the diving board and when I finished a few laps, we sat and talked for 20 minutes or half an hour, in a relaxed state," the champion said.

"We are going to have our ups and downs and there are going to be times where we hate each other and when we like each other, but ultimately when we have all retired and got kids and stuff, the respect is always going to be there."

Lewis Hamilton posts Snapchat videos of himself partying in Miami days after Russian Grand Prix defeat

Lewis Hamilton has given his Snapchat followers a glimpse of life in the fast lane after posting a series of videos of himself partying in Miami.

The 31-year-old finished second in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, which leaves him 43 points adrift of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg after just four rounds of the new Formula 1 season.

But the British driver did not dwell on the disappointment and headed to New York to attend the Met Gala on Monday night before travelling to Athens courtesy of his private jet.

Hamilton, who was reported to have an estimated fortune of £106m in this year's Sunday Times rich list, flew to Miami on Wednesday and posted a blow-by-blow account of his nightclub jaunt on the popular social media platform.

The three-time World Champion appeared to be smoking a shisha pipe in one video while he danced alongside fellow revellers in others.

Hamilton's defence of his title has been plagued by a number of care failures, most recently in Sochi where engine problems affected his performance in qualifying and the race itself.

Rosberg has taken full advantage of his rivals' slow start to move into pole position as the Finn attempts to end Hamilton's bid to win a third successive title.

The next Grand Prix will take place in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday May 15.

Lewis Hamilton will bounce back with win at Bahrain GP, says Johnny Herbert

F1 pundit Johnny Herbert is backing Lewis Hamilton to record a third consecutive Bahrain Grand Prix win this weekend.

The Sky Sports F1 analyst successfully tipped 9/4 shot Nico Rosberg to land the season opener in Australia for Mercedes, his fourth successive race win, but believes it is Hamilton's turn to top the podium under the floodlights at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit on Sunday.

Herbert said: "Lewis was the fastest man in every session in Melbourne, except the race.

"This weekend I expect him to put that right and take what would be a third consecutive Bahrain GP win. He's still the man to catch, even if his poor start last time out allowed his team mate to take the spoils."

Although Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out at Albert Park, Herbert still believes the Force India driver can secure a top-six finish this weekend, and is backing the German to do so at odds of 2/1.

Herbert added: "The red flag in Australia cost Nico a chance to finish in the top six, so fingers crossed that he gets some better luck this weekend. Force India traditionally go well in Bahrain, so it's time for the Hulk to let rip in the desert!"

The F1 pundit also saw enough from rookie Manor driver Pascal Wehrlein to suggest he could finish in the points at odds of 22/1 with Sky Bet. 

"You might think I'm crazy but the long straights in Bahrain will suit the Mercedes engine that Manor are using this season, and the young German showed on his debut in Australia that he's good enough to spring a surprise or two this season," said Herbert.

"With brake wear likely to be an issue for many of the cars, could a few retirements allow Wehrlein to bag his first points in F1?"

Johnny Herbert's Charity tips this season are supporting Sporting Memories.

Celebrity Sightings: Matt Damon, Lewis Hamilton and Zac Efron

Above: Stella Artois has joined forces with Water.org and its Co-Founders Matt Damon and Gary White, to drive awareness of the 663 million people around the world living without water. The 2016 ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ campaign is being launched at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on 23rd January. Last year’s ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ campaign helped Water.org provide more than 290,000 people in the developing world with 5 years of clean water. To learn more about the campaign and to see Matt's video go to BuyALadyADrink.com