Anthony Hamilton: Lewis could be crowned mid-season in 2015

Anthony Hamilton believes that his son could clinch a second consecutive title in 2015 – his third in F1. And the Mercedes driver could do it as early as mid-season according to his father, whereas he had to wait until the final race in Abu Dhabi in 2014 to be crowned.

You never know, but I think if you look at what Lewis went through throughout last year, we started the year thinking that if everything went well, by mid-season he could probably have won the championship. I think the same thing could potentially happen this year – if he starts well, if the car is good, if the performance is good, I think Lewis could still win the championship this year, Anthony Hamilton told Sky Sports Online.

Hamilton, however, expects to see Nico Rosberg back to win in 2015 and he thinks he will give his son a tough time on the track and from a performance standpoint: « I expect Rosberg to give 150% this year. I think he will come with a different mindset, a different approach, a different understanding of Lewis and how to beat Lewis – because it’s difficult to beat Lewis, he’s a mercenary when it comes [to fighting]. I think Nico probably went back to school and had to rethink things, because no one is unbeatable, you just have to find the right way. »

The father of the 2008 and 2014 world champion believes that the rivalry, which was sometimes very tense in 2014 with several incidents between the two drivers, will not be the same in 2015: « I think there will be a different rivalry this year. I think the respect between them will gradually grow. […] It was so difficult for Nico to be so close but not clinch the title, and it was difficult for Lewis. I think there will be a lot of respect for each other and […] I think this year will be the most interesting between these two. »