28/09/2017
NEWS STORY
While many believe the first lap incident in Singapore effectively decided the 2017 title fight, Lewis Hamilton is convinced that in true Terminator style, Sebastian Vettel will be back.
Though he now has a 28 point advantage over the German, having taken the championship lead for the first time in Italy, Hamilton has dismissed the Singapore incident as a blip refusing to accept that Vettel cracked under pressure.
"Greats generally bounce back so I have to anticipate he will bounce back even stronger," the Mercedes driver told reporters as the Malaysia weekend got underway.
"I don't remember the last time I have seen him falter under pressure. I don't know whether he feels pressure," he admitted.
With six races remaining, the title fight is still on a knife edge, with some circuits favouring the Mercedes and others the Ferrari, though the form book pretty much went out the window in Singapore.
"It doesn't matter when, the question is if," said Hamilton of the title fight. "I am just trying to make sure it is done by the time I cross the line at the end of the season, that is all that matters."
Asked about Singapore, he said: "I have not really reflected that much on it. I went into it thinking I would lose a lot of points to Sebastian, so to come out the other way around it was a real surprise. Of course it is a turning point when you go from being behind all season long and now two races being in the lead. There are lots of turning points over the year and I am trying to make sure that was the last one."