Has Hamilton lost his spark?

In sport, once you lose that competitive edge it’s often hard to get it back.

In any team sport if a side cruises into a convincing lead, only to be pegged back by their opponent, momentum often sees the side coming from behind to take an unlikely victory.

Once a sports team or sportsperson has let their opponent in, its harder to get rid of them.

That is most certainly the case in regards to the Mercedes duelling duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton fulfilled his lifetimes ambition of emulating his hero Aryton Senna when he clinched his third Formula One World Championship.

The Brit was at his peak of dominance, but took his eye off the ball, caught up in the moment of making sure he enjoyed the moment, he lost his competitive edge and Nico Rosberg ended 2015 with three consecutive victories.

During the winter, Hamilton admitted that he wasn’t fully focussed in those races as his job for the year was done.

But 2016 is now here and it’s a clean slate for everyone and Rosberg has taken that momentum built in 2015 into the new season winning the opening two rounds.

Luck hasn’t been on Hamilton’s side with his races lost at the starts, but you make your own luck and Rosberg has made it his time.

Hamilton is now playing catch-up, a scenario he is all too familiar with and the Brit remains laid back with 19 races of the season to go.

‘People keep asking me if I’m worried – if there’s a downward trend emerging, But I’m feeling the complete opposite. There are no real flaws in our procedure and how we’re working, so I know it’s going to come good. he told Sky Sports.

‘On a personal level too, I’m in the best place I’ve ever been psychologically. There’s very little, if anything at all, that can penetrate that. There’s a long, long way to go, so I’ll just keep working as hard as I have been.’

‘It’s not been a smooth start to the season for me, so to be in the championship position I’m in right now is actually pretty positive.

‘If you can have two bad races and still come away with two podiums, that bodes pretty well. I’ve come back from worse, that’s for sure!’