McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has said that he expects that Lewis Hamilton will quickly bounce back from his Singapore Grand Prix disappointment, saying that his latest crash will be "out of his mind" by the next race in Japan.
Hamilton retired from his second race in succession after a collision with Red Bull driver and championship leader Mark Webber midway through the Singapore night race.
The clash followed his retirement on the opening lap of the preceding race at Monza after hitting Felipe Massa's Ferrari, and leaves the 2008 champion 20 points off the lead of the championship with four races to go.
But Whitmarsh is confident that this latest setback will not affect his driver unduly, and that Hamilton will be raring to go for the next race at Suzuka.
"He will be bitterly disappointed after this race, but that will be out of his mind when he gets to Suzuka," Whitmarsh whispered to Autosport on Monday, "And if we give him a quick car he can win that race. That is what he will focus on."
Whitmarsh explained that he had shared a private talk with Hamilton after the race, saying that he had advised his driver not to get hung up on people making "cheap shots" at him after the crash.
"I went to speak to Lewis," Whitmarsh explained, refusing to clarify if he took a bottle of Chardonnay, a tub of luxury ice cream and some rom com DVDs to help sooth Hamilton's pain.
"He is disappointed and he is a passionate individual. I told him that people will have cheap shots at you, but you have to look at the facts. You didn't take a risky overtaking move, you didn't make mistakes. You were unlucky and that is motor racing, and you have to focus now on the races ahead."
He added: "He knows that, but it doesn't take away the disappointment from knowing he should have been on the podium and should have been leading the championship at this moment and he isn't.
"After two races like that, it is a bit bruising. But he is a tough competitor; he will bounce back and will be strong at Suzuka."
Whitmarsh also conceded that the team had to make changes to their car if they hoped to fight for victory in Japan, after the team was again well off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari at the Marina Bay track.
"We have a fantastic championship," he beamed, "We have five drivers who are capable of winning races and winning this year's championship, and I am not trying to rate them.
"We have to look at our performance, we have got to make our car quicker and develop our package to push as hard as we can, eliminate mistakes and do the best job we can."
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