Winning races, not creating excitement is Hamilton’s focus
Jul 2, 2015, 9:42 AM
Team members gather around the car of Britain's Lewis Hamilton before the British Formula One Grand Prix meeting at Silverstone circuit, Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2015. The British Formula One Grand Prix will be held at the circuit on Sunday, July 5. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
(AP Photo/Jon Super)
SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Much of the recent intrigue in Formula One has been over who will run the championship in the future after Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari investors linked up with the Miami Dolphins owner to explore a takeover bid.
On the track, the 2015 title race itself is offering few thrills, with Mercedes the supreme force in the first half of the season.
There’s little doubt the constructors’ crown will be retained by Mercedes, with Ferrari 136 points adrift already.
For Sunday’s British Grand Prix, it seems to be just a question of which Mercedes driver triumphs: Series leader and defending champion Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg.
In eight races, Sebastian Vettel is the only man without a silver Mercedes to top the podium in a largely frustrating season for Ferrari’s four-time world champion.
When a series seems so predictable, captivating fans becomes more challenging — however much the glamorous series, currently controlled by investment fund CVC Capital Partners, seems to be a takeover target.
“It’s not for us to make the sport more exciting,” Hamilton said on Thursday in the Mercedes motorhome at Silverstone. “It’s for some of the other people that make those decisions.”
At least Rosberg is providing an internal threat to Hamilton’s pursuit of a third championship crown, winning three of the last four races to cut the Englishman’s lead to 10 points.
“The battle is going to go on for a long time anyway, whatever happens this weekend,” the German driver said. “The sport is putting on a great show anyway, as it is. There is a lot of overtaking, a lot of action, a lot of things happening. The wrong answer?”
Certainly in the eyes of some F1 fans.
The series needs to be more competitive, according to 89 percent of 217,756 people who responded to an unscientific online poll by research company Repucom for the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. The survey found that the top three attributes used to describe F1 are:
–expensive
–technological
–boring
Unsurprising results perhaps given Mercedes has won 23 of the last 27 races.
“We go out there because we’ve got a job and a task,” said Hamilton, chasing a third triumph in his home race on Sunday. “The task is to win the races and the championship.
“When you are out there you are not considering how good the show is. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to think about that. You are thinking about the guy behind or ahead of you, and how you can get the points.”
___
Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
