Lauda: Hamilton is now “focused”

Lewis Hamilton signed his third consecutive victory last weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix and closed to four points behind leader Nico Rosberg despite the third double secured by the latter. The 2008 world champion would certainly be at the top of the Championship without his retirement in Melbourne, but the Briton is still the first favorite for the title even if the season is still long.

Niki Lauda is watching with interest the progress of Lewis Hamilton who seems to have adopted a slightly more serious approach this season. “The only one he may have neglected in the past was his concentration”, commented the non-executive director of Mercedes on German television RTL. “He brought dogs to the circuits and was surrounded by lots of people. I told him to focus on himself when they brought his dogs, to free himself from all that and concentrate 120%. He is now performing as expected of him. If he hadn't retired in Melbourne, he probably would have won the race too. »

The three-time world champion also returned to the race with one lap cut following an error by the officials who presented the checkered flag one lap too early. “We had discussions in Bahrain and the Red team (the Team Ferrari and more particularly its President Luca di Montezemolo, see AUTOhebdo n°1955) wanted shorter races. It was supposed to be a test. More seriously, this is ridiculous. This shouldn't happen. The Chinese should know how to count turns the right way. »

Discover the analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1957 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms, and from tomorrow on newsstands.