15/09/2016
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton fears his poor starts could cost him the 2016 title.
While the Briton did a heroic job of damage limitation in Belgium, where he finished third despite starting from the back of the grid following a number of engine penalties, it was a different story in Italy.
Taking pole by half-a-second over his teammate Nico Rosberg, a Sunday drive in the great Monza park looked a certainty. However, a poor getaway by the world champion meant he was down to sixth as he exited the first chicane.
While he fought back to take a strong second, a second successive win for Rosberg, meant the Briton's championship lead was down to 2 points.
Claiming 7 poles so far this season, to Rosberg's 6, though Hamilton has suffered more than his fair share of technical issues, hence the engine penalties in Belgium, the poor getaways in Italy, together with Australia, Bahrain and Canada, have not helped his cause.
Understandably, the Briton fears this particular Achilles heel could cost him the 2016 title.
"If you gauge my season, then the championship could be lost by starts," he told reporters in Singapore. "From a lot of pole positions, I've lost the race from the start.
"You do all the work during the weekend, and then two seconds or whatever it is, has determined some of the races for me," he added.
In an attempt to produce more variability, this season drivers are only allowed to use one clutch to get away when the lights go out on Sunday afternoon, previously they had two which helped ensure a smoother start. Furthermore, teams are no longer allowed to change the clutch settings once the car has left the garage before the start of the race or assist the driver with radio advice.
"Would I prefer my clutch to not have inconsistency? Sure," said Hamilton. "But it is not going to change any time soon."
The problem isn't restricted to Hamilton however, Rosberg having had his own fair share of poor getaways.
"It is an ongoing challenge and it will not become easier," said the German. "I have become good recently and had some good starts, but I have also had some difficulties... I lost Hockenheim and Hungary due to not very good starts."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Singapore, here.