Hamilton cuts to the chase
Championship pacesetter Lewis Hamilton revealed he is more at home chasing down a title than making the early running – but insisted he would not swap his advantage for anything.
Hamilton missed out on Formula One glory last season by a single point after Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came from 17 points back in the final two races to snatch the drivers’ crown from under the noses of rivals McLaren.
But the 23-year-old struck the first blow in this year’s battle with an effortless victory at the Australian Grand Prix as the Finn and team-mate Felipe Massa both retired with engine failures.
Hostilities resume at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang this weekend and, while Hamilton admitted a Raikkonen-style charge was more to his taste, he is still glad to be leading the way.
“It’s definitely easier chasing,” he said.
“That’s the way, in general, in my career, I’ve always found it easier, coming from the back.
“Chasing is slightly different to defending a lead but I don’t have problems with either.
“I think as a driver you’ve got to work on those different areas and try to improve and I’m just as comfortable leading the race as chasing.
“I’d much rather be where I am right now.”
Electronic driver aids were absent in Melbourne as the new technical rules for 2008 came into force for the first time.
Only seven cars eventually made it to the finish line after 58 laps around Albert Park and Hamilton believes the lack of traction control in particular means drivers will have to be more on their toes this time around if they are to make it to the chequered flag.
“I think you have to be a little more focused than you were last year,” he added.
“Last year, that slight lapse in concentration, traction control may have caught it but now there’s nothing to catch it for you.
“Everyone’s found out just through testing it is harder. Especially at the beginning of testing, people were going off all the time.
“It is tough when you go into the race also with a different fuel load; braking points are slightly different, the car reacts slightly differently when you’re behind someone in the dirty air and managing the tyres is harder.”
Temperatures soared into the high 30s Down Under, making the Australian Grand Prix survival of the fittest inside the car as well as on the track.
But there will be no respite in Sepang, where the extreme heat will be combined with humidity levels approaching 90%
“Last year was one of the most demanding events that I have ever come across,” Hamilton said.
“I think a lot of athletes would have struggled in the heat and even if we have a half-dry, half-wet race it will be challenging for all of us. But we are here to win.”
