The Formula One championship was blown wide open on Sunday after Lewis Hamilton failed to finish in China, allowing his two rivals Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen to make it a three-way fight in Brazil.
In bizarre circumstances on a damp circuit in Shanghai, Hamilton looked to be cruising into the record books as he led second placed Räikkönen by eight seconds at the halfway point.
With Hamilton’s tyres deteriorating, his McLaren team failed to bring the rookie driver into the pits – it proved to be a costly error.
On lap 31, the British sensation, who was limping around the circuit, having already lost the lead to the Finn, overcooked his entry into the pitlane and slid off into the narrow gravel trap, ending his hopes of wrapping up the championship.
A disconsolate Hamilton confessed he was 'gutted' after making a schoolboy error – a costly mistake but insisted he could finish off the job in Brazil.
"My tyres were finished," he said as he walked back towards his garage. “These sort of these things happen. I’m sorry for the team, but I can still do it.”
He said: “We were having a great race, we didn’t know if it was going to rain or not. I couldn’t see that my tyres were finished as my mirrors were dirty,” he explained.
"I haven’t made a mistake all year and to make it on the way into the pits is not the way to do it," he added. “We still have one more race to go ... we can still do it.”
McLaren's CEO Martin Whitmarsh said it was the team’s fault for not calling Hamilton earlier.
"With hindsight we left him out a lap too long. The weather was variable at that time,” he explained.
"In the end it was a lap too late. I think for Lewis it was a very disappointing day. It was our decision. We didn’t want to come in and put on the wrong tyre."
Hamilton's retirement allowed Räikkönen to close the gap to just seven points whilst Alonso, who finished second is now only four points adrift. It means all three drivers have a shout for the Drivers' Championship in the last race of the season in two weeks.
"We're back in the championship and it'll be interesting in the last race," said Räikkönen, who handed Ferrari their 200th grand prix victory.
In bizarre circumstances on a damp circuit in Shanghai, Hamilton looked to be cruising into the record books as he led second placed Räikkönen by eight seconds at the halfway point.
With Hamilton’s tyres deteriorating, his McLaren team failed to bring the rookie driver into the pits – it proved to be a costly error.
On lap 31, the British sensation, who was limping around the circuit, having already lost the lead to the Finn, overcooked his entry into the pitlane and slid off into the narrow gravel trap, ending his hopes of wrapping up the championship.
A disconsolate Hamilton confessed he was 'gutted' after making a schoolboy error – a costly mistake but insisted he could finish off the job in Brazil.
"My tyres were finished," he said as he walked back towards his garage. “These sort of these things happen. I’m sorry for the team, but I can still do it.”
He said: “We were having a great race, we didn’t know if it was going to rain or not. I couldn’t see that my tyres were finished as my mirrors were dirty,” he explained.
"I haven’t made a mistake all year and to make it on the way into the pits is not the way to do it," he added. “We still have one more race to go ... we can still do it.”
McLaren's CEO Martin Whitmarsh said it was the team’s fault for not calling Hamilton earlier.
"With hindsight we left him out a lap too long. The weather was variable at that time,” he explained.
"In the end it was a lap too late. I think for Lewis it was a very disappointing day. It was our decision. We didn’t want to come in and put on the wrong tyre."
Hamilton's retirement allowed Räikkönen to close the gap to just seven points whilst Alonso, who finished second is now only four points adrift. It means all three drivers have a shout for the Drivers' Championship in the last race of the season in two weeks.
"We're back in the championship and it'll be interesting in the last race," said Räikkönen, who handed Ferrari their 200th grand prix victory.
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