Lewis Hamilton believes he has the upper hand over team-mate Nico Rosberg when it comes to mental strength following his victory in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Rosberg was heard over the radio complaining about Hamilton’s pace during the race and even accused the Briton of “thinking only about himself”. When asked to respond however, Hamilton opened up a six second gap to Rosberg in just a handful of laps, with the German unable to respond.
Hamilton reckons that and the fact Rosberg didn’t even try and overtake, shows he’s in control at the moment.
“I’ve always said he [Rosberg] is really strong mentally,” Hamilton told BBC Sport. “But I’d like to think I’m stronger this year.
“If I’d been second, with lots of pace, I’d have been pushing to get past, but Nico didn’t,” he added.
“Take a step back. It’s racing. I wouldn’t have sat back two seconds to get to the end of the stint; I’d have tried to get past.”
Former F1 driver David Coulthard agrees and says Hamilton “looks in control” of the championship at the moment.
“It is quite possible that Hamilton’s performance level is what is really behind the outburst from Rosberg after the race, when he accused his team-mate of trying to back him into the Ferraris,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how that develops within the team, and it may fester a little in the days before the Bahrain race next weekend, but the underlying thing is Lewis just looks completely in control.”