Nico Rosberg assesses Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s world title battle
GETTY/PA Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton is in great shape to beat Sebastian Vettel
Hamilton is an odds-on favourite to claim pole position at Suzuka this morning and give him the best possible chance of winning tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. Vettel will likely be his closest contender both in qualifying and on race day, as he has been all season. But the German remains 34 points behind Hamilton with five races to go. The gap would be smaller had Vettel not crashed into Hamilton behind the safety car in Baku or hit Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap of last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
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However, Rosberg does not think the Ferrari driver could have done too much different - even if his reaction to the Baku incident was distinctly post-watershed. “Better I don’t repeat what I said [when I saw it],” Rosberg told Sky Sports. “I couldn’t believe it because he threw a definite win with being just too hot-headed and a bit too self-confident, believing he is always in the right. In the long run, that’s a strength of his. But in some moments, it can be a weakness because it boils over. “In Singapore, I’m not of the opinion that he really messed up there. I think he couldn’t see Kimi [Raikkonen] on the inside.
AFP/GETTY Lewis Hamilton shone in the brief wet running on Friday
“He’s done a very good season and has come pretty close to maximising everything that he could.” Hamilton meanwhile missed out on his fourth world title last year behind Rosberg himself. The Mercedes driver, who retired days after lifting his maiden championship, won the Japanese Grand Prix 2016 to stretch his lead to 33 points - one fewer than Hamilton’s current lead - and revealed today that it is hard to see a way back for Vettel.