Lewis Hamilton insists he has faced lower moments in his career and promised not to dwell on his latest engine failure as he bids to bounce back from his disappointment at the Malaysia Grand Prix.
The 31-year-old Briton now faces a race against time to wrestle the championship momentum back from Nico Rosberg after retiring from Sunday’s race.
Indeed with only five rounds remaining, starting at this week’s race in Suzuka, Japan, Hamilton has been cast 23 points adrift of his Mercedes team-mate and sole title rival.
“Last weekend was a massive disappointment, not just for me personally but for the whole team,” said Hamilton, who was on course to win before his engine blew up with only 15 laps left. “There is no use dwelling on these things, that is just negative energy. All we can do is focus on the next race, taking things one step at a time, and doing the best job we can.
“The guys are hurting from what happened too and I know they’ll be working just as hard to get things right next time. It’s not the lowest point I’ve had. There have been lower moments for sure. Regardless, I will find strength from within to fight back over these next five race weekends.”
The faulty engine, which robbed Hamilton of his 50th career victory, arrived back in Brixworth on Tuesday as Mercedes desperately attempt to resolve the mechanical problems which have derailed the Briton’s title defence.
Hamilton’s retirement marked the third time his grand prix weekend has been scuppered by an engine problem this year – he also started last on the grid in Belgium as punishment for using too many parts – while Rosberg is yet to encounter any major mechanical dramas.
A furious Hamilton hinted at sabotage from within the Mercedes camp after the race on Sunday when he said: “Somebody doesn’t want me to win this year.” He later insisted he was referring to a “higher power”.
Mercedes have been unable to understand why Hamilton’s engines keep failing. “Last weekend was a particularly tough one, but words won’t change that now,” Toto Wolff, the Mercedes head of motorsport, added. “We pick ourselves up, brush the dust off and look ahead to the next race. With regards to Lewis, we’ve talked amongst ourselves and said: ‘How is this possible?’ But there is no rational explanation or pattern in these failures. If there were, we would resolve it.
“We’ve had that discussion with him and he understands that we are feeling his pain too. Despite his frustration, he has been trying to pick the team up and we admire him even more than ever for that.
“We will bounce back from this together. It’s tough when these things come at a crucial point in a championship battle. It’s a massive blow to his campaign, but the championship isn’t over yet.”