Mercedes-Benz motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug insists that he will not be drawn into making predictions as to when
Lewis Hamilton might win this year's
Formula One world championship, despite the Briton holding a seven-point lead with three races to run.
Mindful that Hamilton - and, it must be said, McLaren-Mercedes - contrived to throw away a bigger advantage in the closing stages of the 2007 campaign, Haug shrugged off suggestions that the Briton could sew up the title before the season finale in Brazil.
"I am making no such predictions," he told Germany's
Bild, having been asked whether he thought the title could come in either Japan or China, "Last season, we had as many as 21 points' advantage but, in the end, Lewis lost the world championship by a point to
Kimi Räikkönen....
"Three grands prix within three weeks, on two different continents, in three different time zones, is a big challenge for all drivers and teams. Since Lewis's victory in
Silverstone, where he re-gained the championship lead,
McLaren has scored 77 points, while our closest competitors,
Ferrari and
BMW Sauber, have achieved 43 and 46 points respectively. Lewis has scored 46 points during that time and, for the seventh time in a row, arrives at a grand prix as the championship leader. Everybody in the team will work hard to achieve that at the final race in Brazil.”
Haug believes, too, that Hamilton is a different creature this time around, despite it still only being his second season in the top flight, and will be more focused on what it takes to win the title, rather than going for race wins at every round.
"Lewis is an entirely special talent," he insisted, "He has done just 32
F1 races, but has scored more points in that period than every other driver. And he permanently wants to learn something new.
