Q & A with Lewis Hamilton

Q. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes looks very strong, what is your opinion on that?

Lewis Hamilton: "Well when you look at the amount of laps we are doing, we have been fortunate not to have too many problems, it looks very good and on the engine side also we are looking strong. So far we have not had a lot of setbacks with the programme we are running but we are all aware that there is still a lot of work to do before Australia, that is for sure, but it is all going in the right direction."

Q. What is the main difference you have found between the Formula One car and the GP2 car?

LH: "Well you have traction control, you have grooved tyres, the G-Force is a lot more and braking is a lot heavier. So I have had to do a lot of training, especially on my neck. But the more and more you drive the more you get used to it. It a little bit more mentally demanding and physically, but learning about the technical side has definitely been the hardest part."

Q. What do you think of this new generation showing up?

LH:"I think it is good for Formula One to see some new people coming through. Anyone that has been watching over the past 10 years will have seen the same people, so I think it is really good to see new faces join. I had been thinking earlier about how I am now testing, Nico Rosberg is at the test, Robert Kubica is here; I used to race with them all in karting and I remember back then we all sat there thinking Formula One is where we want to be. It is an amazing feeling to think that we have all made it and we are all working hard to win."

Q. You finished the test this week with a faster time than your teammate...

LH:"It is really difficult to compare these things and I do not read into them as we are both working on different programmes and focusing on developing these. This makes it very difficult to say who was fastest today, but we are very close and the test was pretty good. I covered more than 100 laps on both days, which demonstrates that we are getting there with the reliability, so it is looking pretty good."

Q. Are you surprised at how well you are adjusting to Formula One and how well you already seem to be doing?

LH:"I am working very hard, and the hard work really shows in the results. I am at the McLaren Technology Centre everyday during the week when I am not testing. I spend as much time as possible with my engineer really studying the data and learning as much as possible which it all seems to be flowing nicely. I am just taking it all step by step and I think that is the best approach. "

Q. Do you think it makes any difference with you not being a test driver before?

LH:"Not particularly no, I think I have been fortunate enough to have around 10-12 test days before the end of the 2006 season and I am doing all the testing now. I think it is plenty of mileage and in the past I have only ever had the winter testing to acclimatise so I don't necessarily think that it is a negative."

Q. Is Fernando a good teacher for you?

LH:"It is great to be in the same team as him as I can learn from him. When I look at the data I am able to see where I am losing and where I can gain and I think when we go to tracks like Australia and Malaysia where I have not been before, with his experience it is going to make it a lot easier for me to learn the circuit."