Pit Stop | Lewis Hamilton looking for momentum

Momentum. Engineers will understand it as one thing, drivers as a completely different beast. While momentum for the mechanic is a branch of physics, for the man in the cockpit it's not an exact science. It's about form, or lack of it. It's about feeling and mood and what's going on under the helmet.

Lewis Hamilton isn't desperate for form, if the German Grand Pix is anything to go by. He roared up the grid to make sure the damage to his championship challenge wasn't as bad as it might have been. His 20th to third is some achievement, even given his superior car.

The car seemed anything but superior when his brakes gave out in qualifying. It left him having to chase after an incident-free Nico Rosberg for the third time this season. At least he got on the podium, but had to listen to the German anthem as his teammate and rival extended his lead in the championship to 14 points.

What Hamilton would like is the momentum that Rosberg enjoys after the weekend. He'd certainly like to have the serene weekend Rosberg had. The Briton told reporters heading to this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix that he "never liked to win easily".

"It's not been a smooth-sailing season for me, as it has been mostly for the guy I'm racing against," Hamilton opined. "But I don't want it easy. Some don't mind that. But I do like a challenge." Oh come on Lewis, really? Although it's a sign of a truly great racing driver that you can turn disaster into relative triumph, all drivers, great or not, would prefer an easy life.

It might explain his comments virtually in the same breath as those above. "A clean weekend is what I am looking for. Some points, going into the [summer] break to get some rest time and then get back into the last part of the season. Maybe I will go and rub the Buddha's belly or whatever it is. Try all the different religions to change my luck."