Hard words for Hamilton from Jackie Stewart

Sir Jackie Stewart fears that Lewis Hamilton may let the championship crown slip through his fingers for the second consecutive season after blowing a golden chance to increase his lead over Felipe Massa at Japan.

In his column for RBS, Jacky Stewart said: “Looking at Lewis Hamilton's drive, this was not his finest hour. There's an old adage, 'You can't win the race in the first corner, but you can lose it.' And that's exactly what occurred.

“His approach in that first corner was slightly arrogant to other drivers. He braked far too late, ran deep into the run-off area, almost collided with Kimi Raikkonen, and was later punished by the stewards with a drive-through penalty.

“The Japanese race demonstrated that Lewis is still very young, in only his second season, and although he comes across as very cool in interviews, he doesn't always have the same level of mind management when he's racing

“Lewis Hamilton can still win the championship, but not if he drives the last two races the way he drove in Japan.”