Lewis Hamilton committed to win championship with Mercedes - Formula 1 news
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he wishes to win the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with his current team, despite the fact that people did not expect
him to do so once he decided leaving McLaren.
According to the 2008 world champion, “It would be wrong of me to say that we don't want to win the World Championship this year - every guy or girl that's working
flat out at the factory wants us to win, they want us to succeed this year, as do I.”
The German team proved to be the fastest overall in Barcelona at the end of the final preseason test, but Hamilton claimed that it was not yet possible for him
to fight for the championship, as the car did not have much downforce.
He added, “It's going to take some time and if it means that we build a foundation this year, and then we have a chance to win it next year, then great. If we have
a chance of winning at some point this year then that's going to be a bonus for us because the team was fifth [in the Constructors' Championship] last year.”
Although Mercedes have downplayed any chances of battling at the front with consistency this year, rival teams fear that Hamilton could be a threat at the end of
the day.
Earlier, Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa claimed that the Brackley based outfit has got plenty of potential and they could pose some serious threat
to every other team.
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen had the same feeling and said that Mercedes could pull off a surprise in 2013. His comments were backed by the reigning world champion
Sebastian Vettel, who believed that Hamilton will be amongst the title contenders.
However, it is quite early to make any judgements and the real picture will be clear after the first couple of events. Just like the last season, consistency will
be important and the team that manages the tyres well will be able to score more points overall.
The first race of this season will be held in Australia next week and all the teams will be eager to find out their exact situation.
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