Lewis Hamilton had an early stoppage during his Practice Two for the United States GP but Mercedes said it was just a precautionary. This is the 14th time in 17 Practice Two sessions this season where Hamilton topped the close-of-play.
Hamilton said "There was fluid on the floor, a leak of some kind, but I don't think it is anything big. It's not helpful but Nico had a long run so as a team we will get data from that...and for me I'll get a better feel during the race."
Hamilton has won a four straight races and position himself on top with 17 points clear of Rosberg. This would have to mean that the gap between Rosberg and Hamilton are pretty close and the competition is stiff.
He said "Nico is looking very quick, it is going to be very tough, but I am up for the battle. There will be many battles this weekend but he is the closest on time."
On the other hand, Mercedes thinks of the slight malfunction on Hamilton's race as well as a close competition with the another of their driver will definitely keep the team busy with their cars.
Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe said "It is quite a small thing, we don't know quite what yet, but it was a precautionary stop. Reliability is a really important factor in the championship overall but is becoming particularly so at the moment with the two drivers. There's a big challenge for us to make sure we give them six car finishes in the final three races."
But aside from the early stoppage during his practice, Hamilton also had a mechanical failure of his own. He said "mechanical failure of his own. I had an itch on my foot and can you believe of all the things that could happen. So that turned into a bit of an issue."
On other news, Hamilton has also splits with media mogul Simon Fuller. Although both sides are not commenting on the issue, an industry insider said "Lewis is concentrating on the world championship for now and will assess how to progress with his management around New Year."
"He has been muttering for a year or so about changing his relationship with Fuller. He wants to stand on his own two feet - and cut down on commission fees."
