Lewis Hamilton,driving home a point with Mercedes

In a sport which has machines at the heart of it,it was a ‘human’ moment. A mistake,all right,but an exceedingly endearing one.

It was also perhaps the only ‘wrong’ turn in what has been a step in the right direction for the 28-year-old Briton.

Before this year,Hamilton,who had joined McLaren as a 13-year-old lad,had called the Woking-based team his second home for the whole of his teen years and adult life. Then he decided to “grow up” and move out: to the Silver Arrows this year.

Change of fortune

It was a risky move. Mercedes had finished 4th,4th and 5th in 2010,‘11 & ‘12 — two places below McLaren on each of the three occasions — scoring fewer and fewer points every passing year. Moreover,with the team dedicating their time and resources to developing the future engine,one which would be used from 2014 onwards,it was feared that 2013 in this cockpit would be even worse. But Hamilton took a deep breath and plunged.

Fifteen races into the season,he seems to have justified the decision. While he has won one race as against four in 2012,Hamilton has accumulated more points (161 against 153) and taken more pole positions (five against four) at the corresponding stage of the calendar this year.

It may not sound like much,but it’s far more than what he had expected — and Mercedes would’ve expected — at the start of the season. The results even look spectacular,given McLaren’s (Hamilton’s former side) travails this year: they are languishing in fifth place,with Jenson Button and Sergio Perez,between them,scoring only half the number of points that Hamilton has.

Mercedes,meanwhile,have scored 287 points,with just a meagre 10 of those separating them from Ferrari. Currently,they are eyeing second place in the constructor’s championships.

“It has been an enjoyable experience (with Mercedes). It was a huge step. It has given me an opportunity to put my skill and knowledge I gained in the last six years with a new team. Our goal is to finish second in the constructor’s championships and we are working very hard on it,” Hamilton said.

Better pace

In fact,Mercedes’s qualifying pace has been better than that of even the runaway leaders,Red Bull — between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg,the duo have eight pole positions in 16 races. One better than Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber combined. The team,however,has struggled to translate that into race success.

“For us it is just the tyres. If we didn’t had issues with the tyres then things would have been different because the car is great,” Hamilton said. “It takes a lot of time to progress and we are trying to build a foundation as a team. This year belongs to Sebastian Vettel,but with new rules coming out next season,I hope there would be no absolute dominance.”

Hamilton sure would like to be the one to put an end to it.