ABU DHABI // One of the sharpest tools in Lewis Hamilton’s armoury, one that has helped him become a triple world champion in Formula One, has been his ability to bounce back from periods of adversity.
He demonstrated that last year when he overcame a 29-point deficit in the championship standings, surviving various incidents of mechanical unreliability along the way, to win his second world title, one he secured at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Briton on Thursday gave an example of how he deals with disappointment as he claimed to have forgotten who won the inaugural race at the Yas Marina Circuit, in 2009.
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Hamilton was driving for McLaren, six years ago, and led the race until brake problems slowed him and forced him to retire. To considerable amusement from the media during a news conference, the Mercedes-GP driver was unable to recall that it was Sebastian Vettel who had taken advantage of his setback to win.
Turning to a bemused Kimi Raikkonen, who won the 2012 race, Hamilton said: “You won the first race didn’t you?”
When the Ferrari driver shrugged his shoulders, Hamilton added: “I’m thinking you might have won the first race maybe.
“Someone won the first race after my car failed, but it was a great experience.”
Whether Hamilton was genuinely forgetful or he is not interested in remembering races that do not go to plan, the good times in Abu Dhabi have been more numerous than the bad.
He won here 12 months ago in his title showdown with Mercedes-GP teammate Nico Rosberg, also prevailed in 2011, finished second in 2010, and has twice started from pole position.
As to why he goes well on the 5.5-kilometre track, he said the layout of the venue works well for his approach to racing.
“I know this is a bit like a karting track,” he said. “There’s a lot of late braking and bouncing off kerbs and really having to throw the car around.
“It works for an aggressive driving style, I guess and, yeah, I’ve had some great experiences here.”
Hamilton sealed his third world title in the United States last month, meaning he enters the weekend with the pressure off, unlike last year, when he needed to finish at least second in the final race to guarantee the championship.
He handled that situation with aplomb: he dominated to win the race and the title, and he is hoping for another happy ending on Sunday as he bids for a 44th career race win.
“You always have a good finale here, you’ve got some good battles, the weather’s always fantastic and the fans are great,” he said.
“I had an amazing [conclusion] here [in 2014] and I’m here to try to do something similar.”
Hamilton has won 10 times this season, but has not stood on the top step of the podium since winning the championship in Austin, Texas, at Circuit of Americas.
He has been beaten into second place at the past two races by teammate Rosberg in a change of fortunes from earlier in the season, when Hamilton consistently had the edge over the German.
He said the United States Grand Prix, when he secured the championship, has been the highlight of his year.
“It has been the best year of my career and I’m in a very fortunate position, a lot of great work done by my team,” he added.
“Probably one of the best races for me was Austin, obviously, the pinnacle of the year for me.”
Hamilton will look to have that winning feeling one more time in 2015. Just do not expect him to remember much about it if things do not go his way.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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