• Crash forces McLaren driver out of Singapore grand prix
• Mark Webber 20 points ahead of former world champion
Lewis Hamilton admitted last night that he may have blown his chances of a second Formula One world championship after he failed to finish for the third time in four races.
The McLaren driver, who was forced out of the Singapore grand prix after a collision with Mark Webber just after halfway and now trails the Australian by 20 points, looked dejected when asked about his championship chances. The race was won by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.
“It’s a tough call,” Hamilton said. “There are still four races but I couldn’t have expected a worse two races, especially at this crucial point of the year.
“Twenty points is massive. I really just have to keep my head down and hope. I will keep fighting to the end but we are a long way behind now. It will be a hard struggle for the next four races. If I’m honest I am not really thinking about the championship. I’ve got to just enjoy the rest of the season and what happens happens. It’s a bit of a daze really. I’m not sure what happened.
“I devote all my time and effort into trying to help this team win the championship. I try to do a clean job but I came out unfortunate once again. Fed up is not the right description. Disappointed. Upset. Gutted.”
Hamilton had almost passed Webber when the Australian clipped his rear left wheel. “I saw Mark made a mistake as we caught up with the backmarkers so I got the chance to slipstream him.
“I thought I was enough past, couldn’t see anyone, turned in and thought I’d left enough room on the inside and the next thing I got hit. People have said it’s a racing incident and I just have to accept it. I’m not going to fight about it. I’m not going to blame Mark. I’m not sure what part of his car was hit.
“He was probably quite fortunate to come out of it without problems and I guess I was just unlucky. But from my point I was in a position where I had to take that risk because he had made a mistake.”
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