Hamilton admits title fight is over

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that his challenge for the 2012 world title is effectively over.

(c) Octane Photographic

Hamilton finished last weekends Korean Grand Prix in 10th place, adding just 1 point to his drivers championship tally. He now admits that his chances of winning are pretty slim.

McLaren as a whole had a dismal weekend. Button failed to make it into the final qualifying session, and was subsequently taken out of the race on the first lap. Hamilton had qualified well in third, but dropped back a few spots at the start. He struggled with tyre wear and ended up being one of the only drivers to swap to a 3 stop strategy.

The Brit's final stint was compromised when a piece of AstroTurf was torn off one of the exit kerbs and attached itself to the side of his McLaren, unsettling the balance and set up of the car. After the race his team realised he had been racing with broken rear suspension, the second time that it had happened in as many races.

Hamilton's frustration on the failure was clear, after he said "We had another rear suspension failure somehow, I don't understand how,"

Talking about his title challenge, Lewis admitted that he had no chance of catching Vettel and Alonso, who were extending the gap to the following pack. “In terms of winning, I think that's it for us. It's a day to forget. A year to forget as well” he said. "We were still in the fight up until now but it's too far away. We'll keep fighting in the constructors'."

He now sits 63 points behind current leader Vettel in the championship, while the sole point scored by McLaren in Korea mean that they drop behind Ferrari in the constructors battle.

Lewis also revealed that he hopes Alonso will take the title, with both Vettel and the Spaniard battling for their third title. He said "I hope Fernando keeps pushing,". The two were team mates in 2007, when Lewis made his debut for McLaren. The year was tense and the two ended up falling out, but now appear to be on good terms, or as good as they can be when racing wheel to wheel at 200mph.

It was a truly awful weekend for the Woking squad, but all eyes are on India to see if they can improve.