Hamilton told to focus on rest of the season
Last Updated: August 30, 2011 10:36am
Lewis Hamilton: Crashed out at Spa
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh wants Lewis Hamilton to put his disappointment at the Belgian Grand Prix behind him.
The Brit suffered another blow when he crashed out of Sunday's race at Spa, his sixth accident this year.
Trailing championship leader and race winner Sebastian Vettel by 113 points, it is likely Hamilton cannot wait for the season to end, so he has the opportunity to regroup.
Whitmarsh, however, believes Hamilton should not be considering such a position just yet, not with races left.
"We had a competitive car in Spa, and I hope and believe we will keep working and have that for the next seven races, so there are seven more races to win," said Whitmarsh.
"At the moment he has to put that race behind him and focus on the races in front of us.
"If we look at the next race in Italy, Monza is very different as it requires very low downforce, and so is difficult to predict.
"But there's no reason why we can't be competitive there, and then there are some more typical tracks after that where I hope we can win some of those races."
Tough task
The title scenario faced by Hamilton, team-mate Jenson Button, who is 110 points down, and McLaren in the championship standings is becoming increasingly difficult.
Asked whether it had now become a case of hope and pray, Whitmarsh replied: "I don't do too much of that myself.
"I try and work on making the car quicker, minimising mistakes, racing well and encouraging the drivers to be good and try and win the next races.
"Generally that's what we've done in this team. I'm sure there are other persuasions in the paddock who have different gods they might want to pray to, but I don't do that."
Credit: Sky Sports (www.skysports.com)
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