2008 champ Lewis Hamilton has finally admitted that he has no chance of defending his title this year, some weeks after it became obvious to everyone else, after his latest weekend of disappointment in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who secured his first world title in a dramatic showdown in Brazil last season, has scored just 9 points in the opening six rounds in 2009, and saw his hopes of adding to that meagre tally evaporate in Monte Carlo when he crashed out of qualifying in the early stages of the session, eventually limping to 12th from the back of the grid.That result left him some 42 points behind runaway championship leader Jenson Button with 11 races to go this season, and Hamilton has conceded that he has virtually no chance of catching his fellow Brit given the pace of the 2009 McLaren car, complimenting the Brawn team and Jenson Button on their own work for this campaign.
"I doubt very much whether I can fight for the championship now, but I'll keep pushing and we'll see what happens," Hamilton said with a grimace, "I won't give up. I'm ready to fight another day in Turkey because bit by bit we are getting better, but we're just not as quick as the Brawns.
"Jenson and the Brawn team are doing a fantastic job this year. Clearly he is in the best position to win the championship. All the best to him. I'd definitely put my money on him."
McLaren saw something of a return to form around the streets of Monte Carlo in practice, with Hamilton featuring in the top three in both Friday practice sessions, but a return to high-speed running at the next pair of races at Istanbul and Silverstone will probably see the team fall back down the order.
Hamilton poured cold water on any McLaren fan fires lit by their Monaco pace, saying that: "Don't get your hopes up. It's not the case, it was just Monaco. When we get to Turkey it will be an even tougher race because it's all high-speed corners, and we don't have a good car for those
It will be a similar finish to Barcelona, but we will push to get as high as possible. I just hope my car improves and then we can start challenging for wins or some good points."
He added that despite the team's sensational pace throughout his first two seasons, he was always likely to have a difficult time of it at some point. "It's very tough, but we all go through it. All world champions go through tough times, and that's what we're going through."
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