Lewis Hamilton fires F1 warning at Las Vegas GP amid twist in Sergio Perez chase

Lewis Hamilton stays mathematically in with a hazard of thrashing Sergio Perez to 2nd location within the championship, but the Mexican bolstered his function final day out in Brazil.

Lewis Hamilton joked he turned into “coming for” Sergio Perez earlier than admitting 2d place in the championship would be a step too a ways.

The distance among them is 32 factors with races to move, Perez the one with the advantage. Which means there are sufficient factors nevertheless up for grabs for Hamilton to leapfrog the red Bull racer and snatch second vicinity away.

But the seven-time world champion knows that it’s miles maximum probable not a realistic final results. For that to occur, Hamilton could need to stand on the podium at each races and wish that Perez does now not score any factors in either of them.

“Yeah, i’m coming for you!” Hamilton joked when requested by way of newshounds at the Las Vegas Grand Prix whether he felt he ought to nonetheless trap Perez. But he quickly added: “he’s too a ways away now, to be sincere.

“30 factors in races, he could need to have two failures and i might have to be 2nd essentially. However for me, actually, it definitely doesn’t make any distinction if I’m second or third.”

Hamilton has had a difficult 12 months with Mercedes, again saddled with a automobile which has proven complicated to installation at each race weekend and has not been everywhere close to competitive enough to compete for the identify. He is about to complete a second season in a row without having received a unmarried race.

“I assume we’ve still had an tremendous 12 months given the automobile that we’ve had,” he added. “We by no means idea that we might be combating for second in the constructors’ and knocking on the door of the most dominant vehicle likely of our era. I’m thankful for simply being where we’re and having a half of-first rate season, much better than closing yr.”

Despite that cup-half of-complete outlook at the season, Hamilton admits it has been particularly draining. Although he could be eager for normal updates on how the development of the W15 is going, he stated he plans to attempt to preserve his mind off F1 as an awful lot as he can over the off-season.

He said: “we have had so much paintings that we’ve done thru the yr already. I’m on a group teams chat basically with distinctive departments and i can usually be checking in. However, of direction, i’m going to unplug – I should go away the guys to do what they do excellent.

“i am usually going to be like, ‘hiya, i wonder how it is going?’ however you have just were given to provide them time, it takes time to expand. It is small steps every week. And then, on pinnacle of that, i’ve got to get my head in the right vicinity, i have were given to get in shape, put together for the next season and spend a while with my family. It’s been a killer season.”