Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has little free time between now and the Formula One world championship’s conclusion, in Brazil on November 2, but he has already committed to race again this weekend. He will not, however, be attempting to stave off Felipe Massa: brother Nicholas will provide the opposition as they go head to head with radio-controlled cars.

It is part of a relaxed approach Hamilton believes will help strengthen his challenge to win what is distilling into a two-way contest.

Defending champion Kimi Raikkonen retains a slim mathematical chance of taking the world title, as do BMW Sauber teammates Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, but realistically the crown is destined for either Hamilton or Massa.

The two are seven points apart after the Englishman took his McLaren to third place in Sunday’s inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, the first F1 event under floodlights.

The result capped a remarkable week of twists for the world championship leader. It began with the failure of an appeal against a penalty that cost him victory in the Belgian GP, and ended with that process being reversed after Ferrari and their drivers committed errors in Singapore.

The critical moment occurred when most of the leading runners headed for the pits during an early safety car period.

“Usually, drivers receive an automatic green light to tell them refuelling is complete,” said Ferrari sporting director Stefano Domenicali, “but when the pits are busy, it is better to switch to manual signalling.”

The principle is simple: humans have discretionary powers that computers do not, but a mistake was made and Massa was sent away prematurely, his refuelling hose still attached. The Brazilian was subsequently penalised for rejoining unsafely and then ran off the road several times.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH