Hamilton is 23 points behind Rosberg with five races left in 2016
Monday 10 October 2016 10:52, UK
Lewis Hamilton insists he is not dwelling on the disappointment of Malaysia despite the engine problem that left him facing an uphill battle to win a fourth world championship title.
Hamilton was comfortably leading the Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur when yet another reliability issue forced him to retire and left him trailing Nico Rosberg by 23 points in the title race.
With just five races to go Hamilton looks unlikely to overhaul his Mercedes team-mate but insists he remains positive heading into Japan this weekend.
"Of course, last weekend was a massive disappointment," he said. "Not just for me personally but for the whole team. But there's no use dwelling on these things.
"That's just negative energy. All we can do is focus on the next race, taking things one step at a time and doing the best job we can.
"The guys are hurting from what happened too and I know they'll be working just as hard to get things right next time.
"Regardless, I will find strength from within to fight back over these next five race weekends. If I can perform like I did last weekend and the car holds together, then good things can still come my way."
Rosberg, who struggled into third in Malaysia as Daniel Ricciardo led home a Red Bull one-two, said he sympathised with Hamilton despite the boost it gave him in pursuit of a first drivers' championship title.
"Sunday was not great for us, unfortunately," said the German. "My race was almost over before it even began and I feel for Lewis, as I've been there myself and it sucks big time to have all those points taken away from you just like that.
"Of course, the result in Malaysia went in my favour in the title battle. That's a fact and I cannot pretend otherwise. But I haven't been thinking about the points situation all season and I'm not going to start now. I'm here to win races and that's the aim every time."
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff said the whole team is feeling Hamilton's pain after the problems in Sepang but insisted the title race is not over yet.
"We've talked amongst ourselves and said 'how is this possible?' But there is no rational explanation or pattern in these failures. If there were, we would resolve it," said Wolff.
"We've had that discussion with him and he understands that we are feeling his pain too. Despite his frustration, he has been trying to pick the team up and we admire him even more than ever for that.
"It's tough when these things come at a crucial point in a championship battle. It's a massive blow to his campaign. But the championship isn't over yet, there are still five races to go."
