Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton faces a tougher time in Abu Dhabi as he and team-mate Nico Rosberg vye for the 2014 World Championship.
The pair are separated by 17 points. That would usually be considered a large gap requiring Hamilton to finish just sixth to guarantee him the title, but with double points in play, he needs second should Rosberg win.
That, combined with the fact Hamilton is the ‘hunted’, means he has a tougher job ahead of him mentally, according to 1996 world champion Hill.
“I don’t care who you are or how cool you might think you are, between now and the championship it’s really difficult,” Hill told the Indepedent.
“I think it’s always harder for the person who’s leading. I think the guy who’s hunting has kind of resigned themselves, partly, to the possibility of not winning, whereas the other one’s got it all to lose.”
Should mechanical troubles decide the outcome – as they have with several races already this season – then Hill has warned both drivers to accept it and move on, despite admitting it would be a great shame.
“If either has a mechanical problem, there’s nothing you can do about that. It happens,” added Hill. “It would be tragic if Lewis didn’t win the World Championship this year, because then he didn’t win it because Mercedes let him down, to be honest. There’s no question.
“We’re in a bit of an awkward situation, but there’s no good getting cross or blaming anyone else. I think the right approach is to just look at it as a race to become World Champion.”
