Hamilton shrugs off Ferrari's move to keep title race alive

Published on Monday 20 October 2008 10:13

LEWIS HAMILTON had no qualms about Ferrari's 'stunt' which set up a world-title showdown in Brazil for the second successive season.

Hamilton won yesterday's Chinese Grand Prix with a pole-to-flag victory that was described by McLaren boss Ron Dennis as "faultless".

The 23-year-old now heads to Felipe Massa's Sao Paulo backyard with a seven-point cushion over the Brazilian, and with one hand firmly on the championship trophy.

But that gap could have been considerably bigger if Kimi Raikkonen had not eased up on lap 49 of the 56-lap race to allow Massa by at the Shanghai International Circuit to take the runner-up spot.

It ensures the 27-year-old at least has a fighting chance, and who can forget Raikkonen trailed Hamilton by seven points last season before taking the title at Interlagos by a point.

Although Raikkonen's move was blatant, as he held a cushion of more than a second to Massa when he took his foot off the gas, it was always going to happen with the Finn out of the title picture.

"They're a team," assessed Hamilton when asked about the manoeuvre. "I know if we were in the same situation, with Heikki leading, we would probably do the same thing. It's playing together as a team, and they obviously did a great job."

Robert Kubica's faint title hopes ended with sixth place in his BMW Sauber, finishing behind fourth-placed Fernando Alonso for Renault and team-mate Nick Heidfeld. Toyota's Timo Glock and Renault's Nelson Piquet completed the top eight..