LEWIS LEAVES PAW RIVALS STANDING
A STRAY dog yesterday came closer than Lewis Hamilton’s rivals to knocking the newly-crowned champion from his throne.
Hamilton was back behind the wheel for the first time since wrapping up his record-equalling seventh world championship in Turkey earlier this month.
The 35-year-old is expected to be awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours List and showed no sign of taking his foot off the gas ahead of tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
After topping the timesheet in opening practice, Hamilton repeated his exploits in the second session at a track where he has won three times.
While Hamilton avoided any drama, events unfolded behind him as the session was red-flagged for a second time – the first after a heavy shunt for Red Bull’s Alex Albon – when a stray dog broke through a fence and bounded on to the circuit (inset). Hamilton’s race engineer informed his star driver of the dog at the opening bend.
The world champion replied: “I hope it is not
Roscoe”, in reference to his pet bulldog, who has accompanied the Mercedes star to the desert (the pair yesterday, right). The British ace dominated under the floodlights to finish almost fourtenths clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with Valtteri Bottas third in the other Mercedes.
With three races to go and after 10 wins from a possible 14, Hamilton is on course for his most successful campaign yet and can become only the third driver – after Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel – to win 13 times in a season. But despite his impressive showing yesterday, Hamilton criticised Formula One’s choice of tyres for next year.
All 20 drivers tested out Pirelli’s new 2021-spec tyres, but the Briton was not impressed with the Italian manufacturer’s latest effort.
He said: “They’ve had two years to develop a better tyre and we’ve arrived with one that’s three kilos heavier and a second worse per lap.
“We’re working with brands and partners at the forefront of technology. And if you’re going back after two years of development, I don’t know what’s happening.”