Comment- Hamilton has won the war of the minds

By Charlie Bennett

Despite being 22 points behind with six races to go, Lewis Hamilton will finally feel confident that he can go on and win the 2014 World Championship. The manner of his win in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix was emphatic, but not just because of his brilliant driving. The capitulation of his rival, Nico Rosberg, was far more telling.

Since that clash in Belgium, Rosberg has looked a shadow of the confident world-champion-to-be image, he has portrayed all season. The reaction from both the press and public has rattled him, and he can’t afford to be rattled for long with Hamilton on the prowl.

In his attempts to win the war of the minds, Rosberg has lost. He must now muster up some typical German resilience, or face losing the championship.

Six races is a lot, but the events at Monza, where Rosberg caved in under the pressure from Hamilton, was highly significant. It showed, once again, that Hamilton is the better driver in wheel-to-wheel combat. It showed that, when all things are equal, Hamilton is the faster man. And it showed that when the pressure is intense, Rosberg struggles.

Hamilton has vowed to apply as much pressure as he can in the final six races, knowing that he is the now the stronger driver. If both cars manage to avoid reliability failures, Hamilton is going to be a hard force to stop. It finally seems that the 2008 World Champion has emerged from, what has been, a frustrating season.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 at Monza

All year it seemed that Rosberg was kneeling on Hamilton’s mind, which has been so fragile in the past. Rosberg, the underdog, was the hunter, desperately finding ways to win and finding ways to frustrate Hamilton. He has performed his role perfectly. But, maybe, he has peaked too soon.

By assuming the role of the hunter, Rosberg conceded that Hamilton was the favourite to win the title, when the season kicked off in March. To win the title, he himself would have to be blisteringly fast and get as close to Hamilton as he can.

Rosberg, after all, is hardly slow. He is a Mercedes driver on merit, and is one of the fastest and complete drivers on the grid. But, perhaps like Jenson Button, he lacks the extra performance level that the likes of Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel are able to find on a consistent basis. That is why they are regarded as the three top drivers of this fine generation.

By getting closer to his team mate than expected, Rosberg forced Hamilton into errors. How many times has the Englishman made crucial qualifying mistakes? Rosberg has, up to this point, done a perfect job. He’s forced his team mate into mistakes and relentlessly cashed in on reliability issues.

Lewis Hamilton wins

However, the master plan has hit a glitch. Hamilton has now gone from being the bullied to the bully. Rosberg is no longer the underdog. His 22 point lead makes him the favourite to win and that brings a whole new level of pressure. Six races is a lot when you have to defend against a driver of Hamilton’s calibre, and the last race in Abu Dhabi will see double points awarded.

Hamilton, in a sense, can race without pressure. If he fails to win the title, few will put it down to the brilliance of Rosberg and will instead turn to his woeful reliability record. If he does win, he’s a hero.

Rosberg meanwhile, has no excuses. The former Williams driver has been bullet proof all year, seemingly comfortable with everything thrown at him. But In Belgium, everything changed. He has become public enemy number one, and in Italy he couldn't deal with it.

Nico’s strength of character should see him return and fight Hamilton as hard as he has done all season. But there is no doubt that he is carrying a bruised ego and reputation. The gap may be 22 points but if Hamilton wins in Singapore, we might have a new favourite. And, after Italy, who would back against that happening.

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