Q & A with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton: "I don't feel it's been an up-and-down season! I've had two good races."

Q: Is it fair to say you like your car better than you did a few races ago?

Hamilton: "Obviously at the first grand prix I loved the car then. But then I didn't hit the sweet spot with McLaren at a couple of races. For sure the last few races the car has been the best it has ever been. And it should be that way - we've been working very hard to develop it and we've seen the evolution of the car."

Q: What have you done to help find the sweet spot?

Hamilton: "I have spent a lot more time with my engineer, analysing things and trying to work out where we have gone wrong on weekends. With the team, they always have the determination and the power to keep on pushing with some new parts and components for the car.

"What we've done when we came to tests, at Hockenheim, Silverstone and Jerez, we've really extracted the most from the tests. That is all due to reliability, making good parts. And with all that we've made some good steps forward."

Q: And you've put a lot of hard graft in at the factory on the simulator?

Hamilton: "No, not the simulator. With the engineers, trying to work out the set-up and where we really think we need to be going with that. It is something, at least from my side of the team, my engineering group, pushing my set-up in a certain direction and it has started to pay off."

Q: You are aiming to become the first Briton for 12 years to win a hat trick of races. What is the chance?

Hamilton: "Really? I didn't know that. That is of no importance to me. To be honest I would like to continue with the momentum I had, but it would be nice to score some more points this weekend. That is our aim - to score as many points as we can.

"And if we have got the car to win, we will try and do that - otherwise it would be nice to be on the podium before the break."

Q: Heikki Kovalainen has been confirmed for next year, so your team are staying the same. Is that important?

Hamilton: "Absolutely. I've known for a while now so it is not news to me. It is great. The atmosphere at the team is fantastic, and a lot of that is due to Heikki being there and us being able to work together. So I welcome it and I really hope he stays for even longer."

Q: Will qualifying be crucial here?

Hamilton: "It is always crucial! It is a very tough circuit to overtake at. At Hockenheim you can overtake but it is a lot harder here.

"I raced in GP2 here and it was possible to overtake in some places. I think it is so high speed and so much downforce is needed for an F1 car that it won't be easy - but for sure the higher you qualify the better."

Q: Have you done anything different, changed your approach even, in the last two races? It seems there is a confidence there we didn't see around Magny-Cours time

Hamilton: "Nope. I haven't changed anything. It is just knowing where my car is. In the last two or three races, I have come with the set-up that I knew was going to be the right one and I haven't changed it during the weekend.

"It might be front roll bar and it might be some small changes, one or two, but they are so subtle you hardly feel them.

"I have been focusing on my driving, and when you are able to do that, you are able to extract more from yourself."

Q: You mentioned your GP2 race here - but you had a bit of a wobble that weekend but came back strong at Turkey. This year after Canada you came back strongly too. How much do the tough times help you to come back?

Hamilton: "There is no help there in terms of coming back. It is just something you need to brush off your shoulder and get on with it. You have to extract the best from the weekend and there are always are positives - even in Montreal.

"But everyone goes through tough times and you have to rise above it and bounce back. It makes you stronger, and I seem to come back stronger and go even harder."

Q: It was in Hungary last year that behind the scenes the wheels started coming off McLaren. Can you give us an insight into how much things have changed from that race?

Hamilton: "Well, we are just having a much smoother year and it is a lot more relaxed. There is a nice environment here, and things are how they should be.

"We are here to race and we are focusing on that. We have got no distractions, so it is a much better position to be in. It is one every team want to be in. We are here to race, and that is important."

Q: Will it be a benefit going forward from here? Do you feel better placed now going on from here?

Hamilton: "I think we all do as a team. We don't have any excess baggage on our team, and no stress like that. We have the excitement of working hard to improve the car and to score points. That is where everyone wants to be."

Q: You keep saying that regardless of the result of the last race you have to keep the same approach and same concentration. How different is it when you have a good result like Silverstone and Hockenheim?

Hamilton: "Personally the difference is when you have a bad weekend - not a second or third, that's a good weekend, a bad weekend - you come to the next race and you think: 'let's start again and let's try and do it, do the same but not make the same mistake.' You have just to try and hope the weekend goes well.

"But when you come off a win you don't have any thoughts like, 'I hope this doesn't happen in this race'. You are just planning to do exactly as you did in the previous race. You feel relaxed, you don't have any confusion in the back or your mind or are thinking of what could go wrong. You just think of the positives."

Q: You have said the car is the best it's ever been, so do you change anything coming into this race?

Hamilton: "We got new bits on it, for sure. We have some further developments, and the car is the best it's been this year. It is how it should be - and if it wasn't you are doing something wrong."

Q: How wary are you of Ferrari? They appear to have had a bit of a wobble in the last few races?

Hamilton: "It is racing. For sure they still have a fantastic car and two very quick drivers. I have no doubts that they will be fighting very, very hard with us at the front this weekend.

"Every time you come to a race you are looking out for them and all your rivals - the BMWs, the Renaults are quick and the Red Bulls too. You have to focus on your job but bear in mind that they will be very quick and hunt you down."