Formula One / David Croft / 03 October 2008 /

The BBC's David Croft analyses Hamilton's performance and tactics in Singapore and assures his backers that this time round there should be no repeat of last year's implosion.

Lewis Hamilton looked just a tad miffed last Sunday night. Speaking to the British driver after his 3rd place finish in the Singapore Grand Prix I got the impression that he wasn't too jubilant about ending the race behind Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg. Not that the first two home were the problem - after the troubles at Mclaren last season at least there was a respectful handshake on the podium between the two former team mates.

The problem was more that Lewis had been told by his team to hold station and not chase second place in the closing stages. No driver likes having to do that and I'm sure that Ron Dennis the Mclaren boss who famously coined the phrase "second is first of the losers" found the order went equally against the grain.

However with both Ferraris out of the points and Lewis on his way to a healthy 7 point lead in the Drivers Championship, it was exactly the right call to make. In fact as soon as the adrenalin of the race ebbed from the British driver he would have felt exactly the same way and I'm sure those who have backed Lewis for the title before the race or who have taken the [1.36] on offer with Betfair at the moment , will be glad to see the team are adopting more sensible tactics this season.

Remember the Chinese Grand Prix last year and how Lewis and Mclaren threw away a good points haul that would have required only an 8th place finish in Brazil, just because in the teams words 'they were racing Alonso, not Ferrari'? It seems that 12 months on, a more mature approach is being taken.

CEO Martin Whitmarsh said as much after last week's race when he said that in 2007 the team didn't have discipline. They pushed too hard and realised that championships aren't won like that. For Lewis that was excusable in his first year but it wasn't excusable for the team. Whitmarsh also remarked at how he believes his driver has matured this season. Looking at the laps in Singapore that Hamilton spent behind David Coulthard, being held up but unable to pass, he could sense that Lewis was frustrated but also saw that his man waited until the right moment to pass the Red Bull car rather than attacking too early, locking up and crashing. 'He's a smart guy' Whitmarsh said, 'I think he's learned'.

Lewis himself admits that he's far less tense and nervous this time around, an interesting comment given that he wasn't admitting to any nerves in 2007. He's clearly more experienced after losing out in his first season but more importantly, he has complete faith in those around him to make the right choices.

Of course they don't always do that, the decision to go for the wrong tyres in qualifying at Monza showed that but they got away with it and have learnt to play the percentage game as a result. Mclaren and Lewis will go for the win of course, it's in both their natures, but they won't risk too much chasing a victory that's unachievable or puts in jeopardy the position they already have.

Those who are thinking of backing Lewis at [2.68] need to be aware of this philosophy. The simple math for Lewis is that he needs only to finish second to Felipe Massa now to lift the title, he might not need to go all out for a victory despite his winning nature, second for here on in might not be first of the losers, but the recipe for success.

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