Motor Racing: HAM LOSES HIS GRIP

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, May 11, 2008 | by BILL MILLS

STONY-FACED Lewis Hamilton lashed out in frustration as he lost out in qualifying for today's Turkish Grand Prix.

Hamilton slammed his performance as he qualified in third place, behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa on pole and his own team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. Then he appeared to take a swipe at his McLaren team ahead of the big race.

"I chose the wrong tyre," he admitted. "I'm always hard on myself. That's the way I do it. But we need to improve on making these decisions - I can't do it on my own."

Hamilton started this weekend in Turkey with a calamitous PR gaffe by appearing in a play about Troy.

Then when he took to the track he opted for hard tyres instead of the soft ones used by his three rivals.

But after a debriefing session with his engineer, Hamilton emerged in a more positive mood.

"I thought it was the wrong choice but my engineer said it's the right choice for me," he added. "My lap was good but wasn't good enough obviously.

"It was better than we had for the last few races so it's not all doom and gloom. We are in a good position to attack on the first lap, and a good position to challenge for the win.

"But it's going to be tough, it always is from the back. I want to win as much as everyone else."

Britain's star initially appeared to have turned the tide of his recent misfortunes as he headed the first sector of qualifying.

Even Massa, winner here for the last two years, admitted he was worried.

But at the end of the decisive super-grid shoot-out, Hamilton's McLaren was consigned to the second row, with Ferrari setting the pace yet again.

And Hamilton will be privately annoyed that he allowed himself to be outdone by Finnish team-mate Kovalainen, who bounced back in style after a life-threatening smash in Spain two weeks ago.

"It's been a rollercoaster for the last couple of weeks," said Kovalainen.

Britain's other hopes David Coulthard and Jenson Button qualified 10th and 13th respectively.

STANDINGS

1 Kimi Raikkonen 29

2 Lewis Hamilton 20

3 Robert Kubica 19

4 Felipe Massa 18

5 Nick Heidfeld 16

6 Heikki Kovalainen 14

7 Jarno Trulli 9

8 Mark Webber 8

9 Nico Rosberg 7

10 Fernando Alonso 6

GRID

1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari

2. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren

3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren

4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari

5. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber

6. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault

7. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault

8. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota

9. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber

10. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault

11. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota

12. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda

13. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda

14.Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari

15. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota

16. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota

17. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault

18. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari

19. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari

20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari