As a rare three-way battle for the 2007 championship approaches, Lewis Hamilton has apologised to his fans for not wrapping up the title already.
The British rookie slid into a pit entry gravel trap in Shanghai last Sunday after commandingly leading the opening stanza of the race, when simply finishing ahead of his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso would have guaranteed the crown.
The mistake has brought Alonso and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen back into the hunt for the upcoming Brazilian finale.
Hamilton told his fans on Wednesday: “I have to apologise for keeping them in suspense.”
Speaking with British reporters, the 22-year-old vowed to focus on the ultimate prize at Interlagos rather than push only for the race win.
“I aim on finishing on the podium and know I can’t take risks,” he revealed.
“Maybe I took a risk at the last race. We were in a perfect position to win the championship. But I wanted to win the race.
“I was out there driving for the win. You can learn from that situation. Some part of the mind has to be focused on the end result.
“We can’t take risks (in Brazil), that’s for sure.”
Hamilton was gutted after abandoning his beached car in China, but he said failing to win the title next Sunday would be an even harder hit.
“For any driver it has to be a hard hit knowing it was there and you didn’t take it,” he acknowledged.
