Hamilton hopes GP win still possible
Lewis Hamilton is optimistic that he will still have a chance to challenge the Red Bulls for victory in tomorrow's European Grand Prix despite Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber sweeping the front row, and Valencia having a reputation as a track where passing is difficult
The McLaren driver was 0.4 seconds off polesitter Vettel's pace as he qualified third today, but hopes that he can move forward if the race is as eventful as many 2011 grands prix have been.
Asked if he felt he could race with Red Bull, Hamilton replied: "That is always the question, but we are as close as we could be. This is a track notorious for being difficult to overtake on.
"We will see what happens, there will be more pitstops here than we have had in the past. We have seen how other races unfolded [in 2011] so we could still have an exciting race."
Hamilton added that he was pleasantly surprised to get as high as third, having struggled to get this weekend's Pirelli tyres working for him so far this weekend.
"I wasn't expecting to be so high up," he said. "After practice three we were struggling a little bit to switch the tyres on.
"The guys did a great job to analyse the data into qualifying. My lap wasn't too bad, I tried to improve on last lap - always trying to get a bit more - but I got a bit greedy, and bailed out on last lap to try and save tyres for the race."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Jon Noble: An unfair perception or a genuine concern? Lifting the lid on Red Bull’s Tsunoda scepticism
Hamilton and Leclerc confused by woeful Ferrari pace in Austrian GP
Hamilton details neck injury that affected start of 2025 F1 season
Ferrari says winning Barcelona GP means less in F1 2026 – is that true?
F1 drivers to take to Lego minicars at British GP
Gresini signs Mir and Holgado on two-year MotoGP deals
Why this looks like Russell’s best chance yet at the British GP
Vote: Autosport Best of the Month for June 2026
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments