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 Should the Briton drive his dominant Mercedes to victory in his
161st start on Sunday, not only will he achieve the feat in exactly
the same number of races, he will strengthen his bid for a
Senna-equalling third world title.
"I watched Senna as a child and it would be an honor to match him.
Now I'm just one win away but I hope to do even better," the
30-year-old said in a recent interview.
"But we must not forget that if he were alive, he would have won a
lot more," he added of the driver who tragically lost his life
following a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Hamilton holds a 53-point lead over nearest challenger Nico Rosberg
going into the 13th round of the season and it was at this race a
year ago where the Briton ripped the momentum away from his German
team mate.
Last season, the title race ended up going all the way to the final
round in Abu Dhabi as Hamilton's reliability issues allowed Rosberg
to remain within striking distance despite winning seven fewer
grands prix.
This year, however, Hamilton has secured 11 pole positions in 12
rounds, finished every single race and claimed his seventh victory
of the season in Monza last time out as a late engine failure left
Rosberg pointless.
Hamilton knows what it takes to win in Singapore, having twice taken
the chequered flag under the floodlights after 61
concentration-sapping laps around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and
the Briton is geared up for another tough race.
"I've won there twice now, both times from pole, which shows you how
important qualifying is too," he said. "It won't be easy to make it
three... far from it. But I'm riding high right now and I'll be
pushing for that hat-trick."
SILVER BEAST
Rosberg has admitted he is not a fan of the 23-turn circuit and
after electrical issues forced an early retirement that allowed
Hamilton to leapfrog him in the standings a year ago, the German
admits he has nothing to lose this time around.
"I know I've got the pace to win there, so I'm hoping for a clean
weekend and a chance to unleash the silver beast under the lights,"
he said.
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A Hamilton win would also see him draw level with Sebastian Vettel
with 41 career victories, although the German will be looking for
his third win in his debut season for Ferrari at a circuit he also
loves.
Vettel stormed to three straight wins in Singapore with Red Bull
from 2011 and with his car the best of the rest this season, the
four times champion sits 21 points behind Rosberg.
The tight track and regular safety car periods could work in his
favor.
Local organizers of the race have played down concerns about the
cloud of haze hanging over the city, saying it was not expected to
impact on the event.
The city-state has been blanketed by thick smog for the past week, a
result of farmers in neighboring Sumatra burning forests to clear
their land for agriculture.
Race officials said they were monitoring the situation but there
were no plans to change any of the scheduled events over the race
weekend, including the pop concerts held each night at the Marina
Bay street circuit.
"Based on the current PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) levels, there
are no plans to amend the published racing and entertainment
program," Singapore GP said in a statement.
(Editing by Julian Linden)
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