McLaren’s Hamilton determined to fight on

The fighter in Lewis Hamilton has vowed there will be no let-up in his quest to make life as uncomfortable as possible for champion-elect Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel’s surprising victories in the past few weeks in Belgium and Italy, at circuits in Spa and Monza where Red Bull feared the worst, have propelled the 24-year-old into a position of virtual impregnability.

With six grands prix remaining and 150 points available, Vettel’s four pursuers in Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber and McLaren pairing Jenson Button and Hamilton, have all but thrown in the towel on their title chances.

Alonso is currently 112 points adrift ahead of this Sunday’s night race in Singapore, Webber and Button a further five points behind, whilst Hamilton is 126 down.

The turbulent nature of Hamilton’s season has ensured he is simply fighting over the scraps – a respectable second place in the table, to finish ahead of team-mate Button, and six race wins.

“I’ll really be pushing for a good result this weekend,” said Hamilton.

“We had a car capable of winning in both Belgium and Italy, so I really want to make sure we arrive in Singapore with a good set-up, and we’re able to run with it through practice and qualifying.

“If it all goes to plan, we should be in good shape on Sunday, and even though the title is now almost out of reach I’ll be pushing hard for the best possible result.

“I will never give up, and I’ll be driving to win as always.”

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is another venue where Hamilton has known no middle ground as he finished third in 2008, won in 2009, and then crashed out last year after a collision with Webber.

The bumpy, twisty nature of the track means it is unforgiving on both the car and driver, and like Monaco, precision is vital.

It is also the most demanding, physically and mentally, with each of the three races to date finishing close to the allowed two-hour maximum.

At present, all races are 300km plus one lap, with the exception of Monaco whose 78 laps cover 260km.

Button feels Singapore should follow suit, adding: “It’s a very tough race because it’s long, the longest on the calendar, normally about two hours.

“Mentally it’s very tiring because it’s low speed, like Monaco in a way with the barriers so close to the circuit, very bumpy, dark, so it’s very demanding for the drivers.

“We find it very, very tough, and after the race you are shattered, in pieces.

“It’s one of the races we actually think is a little too long, that they need to maybe shorten.”