Hamilton resigned to being unable to fight for championship

Lewis Hamilton is backing fellow Briton Jenson Button to take his Formula One world crown.

Lewis Hamilton is expecting a tough time.
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Lewis Hamilton is backing fellow Briton Jenson Button to take his Formula One world crown. Any remote hope Hamilton had of challenging Button disappeared when he crashed his McLaren into a tyre wall during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday where he threatened to challenge for victory after setting an impressive pace in practice. From 16th on the grid, Hamilton finished 12th, as Button won for the fifth time this season to extend his championship lead to 16 points, and 42 over Hamilton.

The McLaren driver said: "Jenson and the Brawn team are doing a fantastic job this year. Clearly he is in the best position to win the championship." He adds: "I doubt very much whether I can fight for the championship now, but I'll keep pushing and we'll see what happens. I won't give up. I'm ready to fight another day in Turkey because bit by bit we are getting better, but we're just not as quick as the Brawns.

"When we get to Turkey it will be an even tougher race because it's all high-speed corners, and we don't have a good car for those. "I just hope my car improves and then we can start challenging for wins or some good points." "It's very tough, but we all go through it. All world champions go through tough times." * PA Sport