Faced with a formidable stampede of stoic resistance a Grand Prix driver has to rely either on his unique ability, and his car’s stamina, or a flash of ill fortune among his chief chasers for the ultimate reward of first place.
Lady Luck and her unpredictable influence has frequently intruded on the likely outcome of a Formula One show — and that was never more evident than when, last time out in Azerbaijan, Lewis Hamilton, a well beaten and frustrated striver, was gifted a victory he could not, and certainly did not, expect.
He dwelt in the darker shadows of defeat until, first, pacemaker Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari slumped and then new leader, Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas ran into trouble and heartbreakingly fell by the wayside with only a couple of countdown laps left, and found himself heading for the top step of podium and into the lead in the championship chase.
The chaotic closure of the Baku bonanza still stirs Hamilton to count his blessings of just about his luckiest victory since his the first of 63 triumphs in Canada in 2007 as he readies himself to add to his nine-point title lead over Vettel in the Spanish GP on Sunday.
“I still can’t believe my luck,” says the 33-year old, who had been without a win since the USA GP last October
”I was really, really, fortunate that I scored that win. Probably the luckiest of my entire career. I was having an awful race. I couldn’t get the tyres to work and I was going nowhere as hard as I tried.
“But as my father always reminded me… you must never give up however bad the situation looks. Never quit. Never lose hope, because anything can happen.
“And that’s why I kept pushing. I would never have won if Seb and Valtteri had not hit trouble. It just goes to show that Lady Luck can show up on your side.”
His sheepish reprise is a totally honest face-up to a victory served him on a plate and he is determined to underpin his title takeover lead with a Barcelona follow-up on the circuit where he clinched the hat-trick last season with a win from pole position and the fastest lap.
Mercedes, anxious to slow down the Ferrari and Red Bull charges, have worked hard behind the scenes to improve their faltering challenge and they have promised to give Hamilton an improved car in pursuit of his fifth world crown to make it an “Ole” day in the bullfighting nation.
He faces 66 tortuous laps, 190.82 miles, around the tricky 2.89 mile circuit in the fifth-round clash, with his boss Toto Wolff promising: “We will give him a car that can be a winner. We were both unlucky and lucky when Valtteri broke down and Lewis was in a handy place to take over the lead.”
