Pit Stop | Pit Stop: Lewis Hamilton deserves to be head of pack heading into US Grand Prix
Briton has not put a foot wrong in the second half of F1 season as next race looms in Texas with a 17-point drivers' lead
Three races left in the season and Lewis Hamilton has a lead in the championship of 17 points. It's been quite a turnaround, and the Russian Grand Prix proved a few things.
Firstly, the gods seem to be smiling on the Briton. After his travails in the first half of the season, his progress now seems serene. Arch-rival and teammate Nico Rosberg is scrabbling to keep up. His ill-advised late braking at the start of the race in Sochi seemed to be the mark of a man who is not at ease with himself or the situation he finds himself.
It's probably fair to say that Hamilton deserves to be where he is heading into this weekend's Grand Prix in the United States. He is only the fourth person to win a record nine races in a season and he's equalled the British record of 31 career wins set by Nigel Mansell.
Given the shenanigans that have gone on between the pair this season it was always going to be fascinating to see who would win the psychological arm wrestle
If you are driving that well, you deserve to win the championship. Rosberg is a fine driver. He proved that in Russia by climbing back to second place by driving for 52 laps on one set of tyres. However, he wouldn't have needed to do that if he hadn't made the braking mistake under pressure from Lewis that flat spotted his first set of tyres.
Since the Mercedes pair came together in such controversial circumstances at Spa, Hamilton has had the advantage. Rosberg found it difficult to deal with the fallout of the incident and his 29-point advantage in Belgium has evaporated within a handful of races.
These guys are all mentally hardened, but small things can play on your mind. Given the shenanigans that have gone on between the pair this season it was always going to be fascinating to see who would win the psychological arm wrestle. After Monaco, you wouldn't have put your house on Hamilton being in pole position on that matter.
