Hamilton: Gearbox failure ends duel with Massa

Updated



Lewis Hamilton had high hopes for the Brazilian Grand Prix, but the McLaren driver did not finish. "It was actually quite a decent race, but we had gearbox trouble early on," said the 2008 world champion, who had experienced problems changing gear. "I was losing a tenth of a second every lap, and in the end it was as much as a half."

The British driver had hoped engineers could fix the problem: "But it wasn't possible, and then I thought the car would maybe go the distance, but no such luck and suddenly, it was all over." The start did not go all that well either for the British driver, and Fernando Alonso flashed past in an instant. "I don't know why the start went so badly for me, because I actually got off the line quite well," was Hamilton's opinion; he had found himself hemmed in on the approach to Turn 1, though, and so had to tread carefully.

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