Lewis Hamilton was dealt another cruel blow during the early stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when the Briton’s McLaren was once again struck with a mechanical issue, snatching victory away from him. This gifted the lead to Kimi Raikkonen, who stormed to his first win since his return to the sport.
Throughout the entire race weekend, Lewis Hamilton has been the only driver to thwart the pace of the Red Bull’s, securing pole position from Mark Webber by several tenths. At the start, the Briton glided unchallenged into the lead, and apart from a minor mistake on lap two, looked set to secure what would’ve been his 21st career victory. However, with scenes reminiscent of the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton coasted to a halt only 19 laps into the race.
“I’m gutted; I’d had really good pace all weekend and I feel certain we could have won today.” Explained a surprisingly encouraged Lewis Hamilton, “I had a fuel pressure problem – it was very sudden, I was just entering a corner and the car just died on me. The only mistake I made all weekend was having a brief moment on lap two, when my brakes weren’t fully up to temperature and I locked up into Turn Eight. After that, however, everything was going really well. The car was a dream to drive – I was cruising and still pulling away when I had my problem.”
Lewis Hamilton now has only two races remaining as a McLaren driver, and he is eager to take at least one more victory before the end of the season. It’s unquestionable that the Briton has been dealt torrid luck in recent races, with the 2008 World Champion failing to return to the podium since his victory at the Italian Grand Prix back in September.
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