12/06/2008
NEWS STORY
While, in the certain quarters, the rumbling over Lewis Hamilton's Montreal pitlane incident continues, the man himself is trying to put it in the past and concentrate on the forthcoming French GP… and beyond.
"It was nowhere near one of my lowest points,2 he said yesterday at the launch of a new British motorsport initiative, Go Motorsport. "I don't even particularly feel it was a low point. It was one of those things you just have to come to terms with and move on. In the race I was on top of my game."
Following the incident, Hamilton has been handed a ten-place grid penalty for next week's race at Magny Cours, however the Englishman remains confident that a win is not entirely out of the question.
"I feel quite confident that we can still win there. That's my job," he told reporters. "I've got to have that belief in myself and the team. I still feel we can finish in the top three but it's going to be a real challenge."
As for his World Championship hopes, the McLaren driver not only believes it is still within reach but that, unlike 2007, it will not go down to the wire
"I believe it is going to be very difficult to win," he admitted, "but I don't plan on it going to the last race."
One of those who might have other ideas is the Montreal winner, the ever-improving, Robert Kubica. Hamilton insists that he has always been aware of the threat posed by the Pole.
"I think he's been a title contender from race one," he said. He was sitting on P2 at the first race.
"I've always known that he's got great talent and that he was going to be strong as soon as BMW pulled their socks up," he continued. "And they have done that. They've done a great job, they've been very consistent and it is three teams at the front really battling it out.
"I think he is going to be pushing us right to the end but it's not particularly worrying. I still feel that we can come out on top but it's going to be a real challenge."