Hamilton trusts Red Bull will be close

"This is a circuit where perhaps there is less opportunity for the advantage of Red Bull maybe," Hamilton told a news conference ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"On turns 4, 7 and 9, the Red Bull will be quite strong on those exits, but otherwise we should be strong on the straights.

"Other teams are constantly developing our cars, and we are doing the same. Hopefully our car will suit the track a bit more than Monaco and we will have a good weekend."

The McLaren driver, however, admitted it was hard to make predictions before Saturday.

"It is difficult to say simply because we are always improving," he said. "We won't know until Saturday. We don't know what our true pace is.

"We haven't made a significant step forward to close that gap. I guess they will still be very competitive but we have long straights here."

Hamilton, who scored his maiden F1 win in Canada three years ago, is hopeful he will have another strong weekend on a track that he reckons suits his style.

"Generally I got on quite well here the past few years and I don't know why, it is a bit of a street circuit which I go quite well on," he said. "I've just always been able to dial the car in quite well here and it suited my driving style.

"Hopefully we will see the same this weekend and I'm hoping the car is quite competitive and I'm able to compete with the guys in front. I'm excited to get out there as it has been a while since I've been there."