Hamilton’s season could be over after Singapore crash

With just four races left to decide who will win this year's Formula One driver's championship, Lewis Hamilton appears to have blown his chances after crashing out of the Singapore Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was undone as he tried to overtake Mark Webber midway through the race and just after a safety car incident. Hamilton was lying in fourth place at the time and tried to steal a march on Webber as the race re-started. Although he got his nose in front of the Australian the pair collided as they approached a bend and Hamilton spun out.

His failure to finish three of his last four races tells the story of a man who has pushed too hard in an attempt to keep up with his faster rivals - and paid the price.

It was his gearbox that gave out in Hungary in August, but a fortnight ago in Italy, and on Sunday in Singapore, white-knuckle driving was to blame as clips with Felipe Massa and, this week, Webber forced him to retire.

Hamilton is now in third place, and with 20 points separating him from championship leader Webber, the McLaren driver is well aware that a late comeback is unlikely.

"It's a tough call," Hamilton said. "There are still four races but I couldn't have expected a worse two races, especially at this crucial point of the year.

"Twenty points is massive. I really just have to keep my head down and hope. I will keep fighting to the end but we are a long way behind now... It's a bit of a daze really. I'm not sure what happened."

 
In the wake of his latest mishap the 2008 World Champion even seemed to feel sorry for himself. He said: "I devote all my time and effort into trying to help this team win the championship. I try to do a clean job but I came out unfortunate once again. Fed up is not the right description. Disappointed. Upset. Gutted."

 
Webber said he had sympathy for his rival after the race: "He had to have a go. He saw it was very difficult for me to clear the Virgins [in front]. It is difficult to clear the backmarker and Lewis had a run on me but that's the only corner on this track where stuff can happen.

"We know it's a key point to get it right and neither of us wanted to give an inch and in this case, it ended up in contact."

Lewis's team principal Martin Whitmarsh was philosophical after yesterday's race but appeared to lay the blame at the door of the Red Bull driver.

He said: "Lewis did not make a late lunge. This was a reverse of what happened in Monza. Lewis had got past, was in the lead, went for the corner, left a bit of space but he was hit and Mark was lucky to get away with it.

"We could get heated about blame but Mark has to race as well. Lewis did not make a desperate overtaking move, it was a solid manoeuvre. Whenever you overtake in motor racing there is a degree of risk and he was very unlucky it did not come off."

Good performances in the next two races in Japan and South Korea will be crucial for Hamilton. As it stands however, there is a good chance that South Korea will not even go ahead as the track hasn't been laid yet. A distinct possibility that would be yet another nail in the coffin of Lewis Hamilton's season. ·