autoevolution
 

Hamilton Asks McLaren to Improve Qualifying Pace

Although he didn't win a single race with his much-praised McLaren MP4-25 so far – in the first 4 rounds of the season – Lewis Hamilton seems to be very happy with his achievements in 2010. The 2008 Formula One champion still believes he drives the best F1 car in career and he can't wait to make his first appearance on the highest step of the podium.

I have to say that I'm helped by this year's car - it really gives you the confidence you need to attack. And it feels extremely strong under braking, so it does make it easier to successfully pull off a good move,” said Hamilton in an interview with McLaren's press office.

Most of all, I know I can win races in this car - the car still feels so planted, more than any Formula 1 car I've driven, and I'm sure those victories will come,” added Hamilton, who is currently two wins short of matching his teammate Jenson Button this season.

However, as strong as Ham's pace is in the race – he passed no less than 32 cars in the first 4 races of the 2010 season – the Brit acknowledged the fact that his MP4-25 is still struggling in qualifying. The best example for that was the Chinese GP, where the two McLarens dominated the first two qualifying rounds but ended Q3 in 5th and 6th respectively.

We have a lot of developments in the pipeline; we've got quite a few changes for Barcelona and I think we can be right up there. We still really need to focus on our qualifying pace: we made some improvements in China, but there's still a way to go. We'll get there though,” added Ham.

Until now, the first position on the grid was turned into a Red Bull trademark, as either Sebastian Vettel (Bahrain, Australia, China) or Mark Webber (Malaysia) managed to secure the Milton Keynes based team a 100 percent pole position record in 2010.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories