Hamilton douses talk of title formality despite Belgian rout
BRITAIN’S Lewis Hamilton distanced himself from suggestions that his third crowning as world champion is a foregone conclusion after storming to victory at the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday.
Hamilton extended his lead at the summit of the drivers’ championship from team-mate Nico Rosberg to a season-high 28 points after recording his sixth triumph of 2015. It was also Mercedes’s first win at Spa since Juan-Manuel Fangio in 1955.
Starting from pole for the sixth successive race, Hamilton won convincingly from Germany’s Rosberg, as Romain Grosjean of Lotus came third after taking advantage of a rear tyre failure for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with two laps remaining.
“It is definitely way too early for that [saying championship success is a formality],” said Hamilton, who is aiming to become the first British driver to successfully defend his world title.
“You want to get those pole positions and translate them into wins and hopefully this is the beginning of that. Nico had good pace but I was able to answer most of the time, so I was fairly relaxed at the front.”
STANDINGS
Drivers
Hamilton 227pts
Rosberg 199
Vettel 160
Raikkonen 82
Massa 82
Constructors
Mercedes 426
Ferrari 242
Williams 161
Red Bull 108
Lotus 50