Hamilton engine failures unrelated - Wolff

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Mercedes' Toto Wolff has said that the multiple engine failures suffered by Lewis Hamilton this season have no common link while admitting he could not explain the successive issues.

Hamilton retired from a commanding lead in last weekend's Malaysia Grand Prix, just 15 laps from the checkered flag, and vented his massive disappointment by questioning his ill-fortune this season, suggesting to the media that "something was not right".

Both Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda dispelled in no uncertain terms the ridiculous conspiracy theories but the former was at a loss to explain exactly why Hamilton has been the only Mercedes-powered driver to suffer from such bad luck.

"It's interesting, as most of the failures were not linked to each other," Wolff told Motorsport.com.

"They were different failures - and it was failures that were either in the supply chain, or they were material problems, or assembly problems or just a mistake in the design or fatigue, below the mileage where it should have been. There's no pattern in those failures that we can identify."

Wolff did concede however that last Sunday's flop occured at a point in the race where Hamilton was pushing flat-out in order to build a cushion between himself and the Red Bull drivers.

"He was flat out back then. We needed to build the 23-second gap to allow a free pitstop.

"We were trying to extend our stint and it was going in the right direction because we were building that gap. But just before it was enough, just before we were about to pit him, the engine blew up."

While Hamilton's retirement is viewed as a huge blow to his championship chances, Wolff insists that the defending champion's chances are still intact.

"The championship isn't over yet, it's five races to go. Lewis had a massive blow to his campaign, that's clear - but let's see how it finishes.

"Let them battle it out on track, hopefully without any reliability problems in the next five races, and then we'll see where we are."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.