Hard knocks cannot stop Hamilton bid

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  • Bouncing back: Lewis Hamilton has kept in contention despite series of setbacks.

    Lewis Hamilton is working on improving his single-mindedness as he bids to improve his chances of winning this year’s Formula One world title.

    Hamilton, who topped the timesheet following practice ahead of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, has shown himself to be a more resilient character throughout the course of this season compared to years gone by.

    The technical problems with Hamilton’s Mercedes, which have put him on the back foot for the majority of this campaign, may have impacted more significantly on him in previous years. However, older, wiser and more experienced, he has instead responded by taking the necessary steps to ensure his sole focus is on beating team-mate Nico Rosberg to the championship.

    When it was suggested to Hamilton that he is allowing nothing to get in his way this season, he replied: “I am working on that because that has been my Achilles heel in the past.

    “It is something you cannot force. It comes with time, but it is something I’ve been working on for a long time.

    “This year, with all the difficult scenarios I have had, what really encourages me is how I have come through them. Take the last race in Italy. Although I won from pole, I dropped to fourth at the start.

    “While people enjoyed watch ing it, I get so much more from it, so those experiences have really helped me a lot.”

    On track, under the bright Singaporean lights, Hamilton produced a solid start to the weekend by leading the way in practice, finishing 0.133 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Rosberg, meanwhile, was down in 13th as his low-fuel qualifying run on the fast supersoft tyres was thwarted by Pastor Maldonado hitting a wall in his Lotus, bringing out the red flags.

    Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third, three tenths of a second down on Hamilton, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

    Sebastian Vettel, four-times champion and winner of this event for the last three years, was a remarkable fifth – 0.551secs behind Hamilton in his Red Bull.

    Jenson Button was seventh in his McLaren. Rosberg admits he has ground to make up on his Hamilton after losing momentum yesterday. The German, who wound up 13th fastest in the second free practice session, had his fast lap on soft tyres wrecked by a spectacular accident involving Maldonado.

    “It was a bit of a pity, yes, because I didn’t learn quite as much as I would like to today,” said Rosberg. “His crash really interrupted my quick lap and I was only able to push for the first half of the lap.”

    Meanwhile, teenager Max Verstappen is set to make his debut as a Formula One racing driver during free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix next month. The 16-year-old son of former Benetton driver Jos Verstappen will become the youngest race starter in F1 history if he takes his place on the grid next season with Toro Rosso.

    The Dutch prodigy completed his first test with the team last week and his Toro Rosso outfit have applied for his superlicence – years before he is qualified to drive on the road in his native Netherlands.

    Team boss Franz Tost said: “It is in the hands of the FIA as to whether he gets his superlicence to do the Friday P1 session at Suzuka. Then we will see.”

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