30/11/2015
NEWS STORY
Mercedes is to look into Lewis Hamilton's relative slump in form in the final races.
Whilst, on arrival in Brazil, the Briton admitted to "partying" having an effect on his performance since securing the title in Austin, he has also cited an issue with his car, claiming it hasn't felt right since Singapore, a race that was disastrous for the team and witnessed Hamilton's only DNF of the season.
Then again, he has also claimed the team is being "warm" towards his teammate.
Certainly, since his nightmare outing in Austin, Nico Rosberg has been on another level, taking three successive wins to add to six successive poles, both being personal records for the German.
In the wake of another difficult race for Hamilton, which has led to further questioning of the team's strategy, Mercedes is to investigate the Briton's end of season 'slump'.
"We have to do an intelligent list over the next weeks and try to analyse it," Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff told reporters following Rosberg's Abu Dhabi win. "We have to find out."
Like many, Wolff admits to wondering, has Rosberg "stepped up his game, or has the car come towards him development wise, or has Lewis just taken it more easily unconsciously, for sure not consciously".
"Lewis is still pushing very hard," he insisted, "he is still the guy with the same talent and putting the same effort into it. You have to ask him."
Referring to Hamilton's claim that the car has been different since Singapore - after which he won three successive races en route to taking the title - Wolff said: "I wouldn't say it is the most likely suspicion. The car is being developed and improved and after Singapore we developed in a different direction.
"We took some learning on board off that weekend and whether the car has come more towards Nico and gone away from Lewis, it could be a factor but I wouldn't want to reduce it to one factor, there could be many factors playing a role," he added.