Following the Red Bull one-two in the Japanese Grand Prix at the weekend, Lewis Hamilton has declared that he will be going all-out for victories to try to claw back Mark Webber's 28-point lead over him in the final three races of the Formula One season.
"If we hadn't had
a gearbox problem in the race I reckon I would have been competing with Webber," the McLaren driver said after Sebastian Vettel had led Webber home at Suzuka.
"And if we hadn't had to change the gearbox before the race and I had started third where I qualified, I think we would have been in the top three for sure, if not challenging for the win, with the pace we seemed to have. We have to do as much as we can. For us there is no choice, it's all or nothing in the next three races."
The Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, found it difficult to contain his delight after the resounding one-two, especially as the tracks in the final three races will continue to favour their cars.
"We think that we can be competitive at all the remaining tracks," Horner said. "There's nothing that we fear in the remaining three races."
However, he was quick to add that he was not ruling out a late title challenge from Hamilton.
"McLaren are still very much in the championship," he said, "and both our guys are still very much in the championship and it would be wrong to favour one over the other. We have said that all year. Until one is mathematically out of the championship, or practically out of contention, we will continue to support both of our drivers."
- THE INDEPENDENT
