MARINA BAY, Singapore -- Speaking during his Thursday media briefing at the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton discussed a variety of topics from his poor start at the Italian Grand Prix to playing with tigers in Mexico.
Hamilton's slow getaway at Monza effectively handed victory to teammate Nico Rosberg and closed the gap at the top of the championship standings to just two points. New start regulations this year mean the drivers have to operate the clutch with a single paddle on the steering wheel (as opposed to the two paddle system in previous years) and are not allowed to receive feedback from engineers about how to prepare the car.
Hamilton has started from pole position at seven races this season but of those seven has only twice retained the lead into the first corner (once in Austria and once at the British Grand Prix when it was a rolling start). Talking about the problems on Thursday, he admitted it could impact his championship chances.
"It's pretty hard to start the races -- it has been the same for years -- but it's just more difficult now in terms of getting a consistent getaway," he said. "You're not allowed to have certain feedback you were allowed before -- in terms of clutch temperatures -- so you don't have that. Sometimes you arrive and it gives you not enough torque, sometimes it gives you too much torque and you're none the wiser -- you don't know if it's going to give you more or less."
"I don't specifically like it or dislike it, it is what it is. But would I prefer my clutch not to have those inconsistencies? For sure I would, but that's not going to change anytime soon. If you gauge my season, then the championship may be lost through bad starts, so I lost a lot of races I started from pole position right at the start. You do the work all through the weekend and then those two seconds have determined some of the races."
Despite Rosberg scoring victories at the last two races, Hamilton is confident he still has the raw pace to win the title.
"I still have a positive mind," he said. "I was 43 points behind at one stage, so I feel pretty good still and we are still leading the championship despite all the engine penalties I've had and not the greatest start in the last race. But the speed is there and I'm still in the lead, so I feel pretty good still."
Playing with tigers
In the break between races, Hamilton posted a video of him playing with a tiger at a sanctuary in Mexico. The video caused a stir on social media, but Hamilton said it looked more dangerous than it was.
How to scare a tiger 😂. My fav, Nicole the tiger! @BJWTC pic.twitter.com/NXjm8DPq11
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 9, 2016
"I generally like danger, I don't run away from danger -- I face it head on. Of course I don't want to get in a cage to get eaten, but I've known Nicole [the tiger] since she was a baby, she recognises me and she loves to play.
"She's never known her Mum, she's never lived in the wild, so she has lived all her life in that home, with a team that gives her love and affection. She would be affective to any of you guys. The video was not from last week, it's an old video that I just posted now."