Lewis Hamilton has been here before: Do not give the F1 title to Nico Rosberg just yet

Graham Caygill writes Lewis Hamilton 'has been in the situation of need to show resilience' many times in his F1 career. To claim a fourth world championship, he must yet again, with 23 points to make up in five remaining races.

Lewis Hamilton has won three times previously in Japan. Mark Thompson / Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton has been here before. In fact he has been in the situation of needing to show resilience after a major setback on many occasions in his Formula One career.

One of the Briton’s strongest traits is his ability to bounce back strongly from a disappointment, and he is going to need to demonstrate that characteristic again if he is to become a four-time world champion this year.

After 40 laps of Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix he led in his Mercedes-GP car and was on target to retake the lead in the drivers' championship.

Instead, his Mercedes engine failed on the start-finish straight, and instead of leaving Sepang with a five-point lead over teammate Nico Rosberg, he departed 23 points in arrears.

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Hamilton, 31, was understandably upset by his misfortune, going as far to suggest there was a conspiracy against him within Mercedes to prevent him winning the title, although he later softened that tone.

There are five races remaining, starting with Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, and Hamilton needs one of his trademark instant responses.

If he needs inspiration he need only to cast his mind back two years to 2014 when he was duelling with Rosberg.

Contact with his German teammate in Belgium had left him with no points from the race and trailing his rival by 29 points with seven races remaining.

Hamilton responded to the pressure by winning six of those seven races and it was he who left the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as champion.

A similar run will be needed if he is to prevail this time around, but if any driver on the grid has the belief and tenacity to do it then it is Hamilton.

Malaysia, up until the engine problem, had been a case in point as he had recovered from a disappointing performance in Singapore two weeks earlier.

Hamilton finished a distant third there, beaten comfortably not just by Rosberg but also by the Red Bull Racing car of Daniel Ricciardo.

It was the first time that Rosberg had beaten Hamilton in a race where neither man had a genuine car problem, either in the race or qualifying, and where the championship was still alive, since Austria in June 2015.

Hamilton responded to that by dominating Rosberg in Malaysia, emphatically quicker in both practice and qualifying.

Rosberg's race was compromised at the start when he was hit by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, so no genuine comparison on pace during the 56-lap race is fair.

But Hamilton was on target to bounce back again from a moment of adversity until issues outside his control intervened.

The destiny of the title is still in Hamilton’s hands. If he wins the remaining races in Japan, United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi he will be champion and that is what he must aim for.

He has won at Suzuka the past two years, despite Rosberg starting on pole on both occasions, so he will be confident that he can begin his renaissance with 25 points on Sunday.

History may well be on the side of Rosberg; every driver to have amassed eight wins in a season has gone on to win the title, but that will not faze Hamilton.

He turned a 43-point deficit after the first five races of this season into a six-point lead six races later, so having to hunt Rosberg down again in quick fashion will not be a new experience.

Rosberg may be have the points advantage, but it would be unwise to rule out Hamilton as the driver celebrating the title in the Yas Marina Circuit paddock come November 27.

After all he has been here before.

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