Austin: Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has declared that he is “100 percent” fit for the United States GP after a foot injury forced him to pull out of a Pirelli tyre test.
Hamilton was on the roster to test the new-for-2017 wider Pirelli tyres in the wake of the Japanese GP, but pulled out due to the injury. This raised some concerns about the world champion’s fitness, however, Hamilton says he is ready to race in Austin this weekend. “I am 100 percent, I feel great,” he said. “I basically had an injury that I carried all year long. Fortunately the physio said it just takes a lot of stretching over time. The most important thing was to be fresh for here, and this is the first week where it felt good.”
The one thing that is not feeling good is Hamilton’s position in the championship. Unable to halt Nico Rosberg’s charge at the Japanese GP, Hamilton could only watch as his team-mate pulled 33 points clear in the race for this year’s World title.
Asked how he will cope should his Mercedes teammate triumph, the 31-year-old replied: “I would try to take it like a man. You can’t win them all. It’s part of the game. All I can do is plan for the future.”
The Brit is hoping to get his championship back on track starting with this weekend’s United States GP. The Circuit of the Americas has been a good venue for Hamilton, who has won three of the four grands prix including back-to-back wins ahead of Rosberg in 2014 and 2015. “No one’s perfect, but all I can do is work hard with the team and there’s no reason why I can’t have more positive weekends moving forwards.
“The US has always been a good hunting ground for me and this is a fantastic track. It is one of few of the nearer tracks where you can overtake. I’ve been out here for a week already so I’m looking forward to fighting again.”
Hamilton’s behaviour on and off the circuit was under a sharp media microscope yesterday. Two weeks after his controversial Snapchat antics in Japan, he returned to appear before the international media at a mandatory pre-event news conference yesterday.
At Suzuka, he played on his camera and complained that the media session was “killing me” and the furore that followed resulted in him walking out of a team news briefing two days later. That led to more media uproar that many believed undermined his concentration and led to his poor race start that saw him fall from second on the grid to eighth. The defending three-time world champion may be seeking his 50th career win at one of his favourite circuits, but he knows that Rosberg wants revenge after being forced off track last year. Rosberg, also 31, has the luxury, however, of knowing that he does not have to win again this season to clinch his first world title. Four second-place finishes behind Hamilton will be enough.