McLaren will be strong if it rains – Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton did not predict anything about the qualifying this weekend but predicted that McLaren will be strong if it rains this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Briton finished strong at the Friday practice at Spa Francorchamps as he finished third, just 2 tenths of a second behind the fastest man in the practice sessions, Fernando Alonso, but ahead of the Red Bulls. The car looked very competitive in the high speed first and third sectors but weak in the second sector.
The British driver said that the team is making small improvements with due time. “This track does seem to suit our car better [than in Hungary], but let's not get ahead of ourselves. If it rains, then we seem to be competitive, but we have realistic expectations for this weekend - I didn't score in the last race, so it's important that we get more points on the board on Sunday”, the former champion added.
The allocation of the wet tyres obstructed Lewis’ strategy during the Friday Practice Sessions. “The weather made it a bit of an up-and-down day. It started off very wet, so we didn't do too much running in the morning. However, we got a few more laps this afternoon on the Intermediates and then the option tyre”, Lewis said.
The team was very cautious about the tyres as the rules state that the teams are not allowed to use too many wet-weather tyres. Each team is given only three extremes and four intermediates and Lewis believes that the team will have to look after them in order to expect good results this weekend.
Hamilton joined Formula 1 after replacing Kimi Raikkonen to join McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso. Lewis scored his first win at the Canadian Grand Prix before scoring another a week later in the US Grand Prix. Hamilton was leading Alonso and Raikkonen by four and seven points respectively until the last race. The British driver was about to win the Championship in his very first season but things did not turn out his way as he had gearbox problems in the final race of the season costing him the Championship.
After a lot of controversies and conflicts, Alonso returned to Renault. The determined young British driver won a string of races in the beginning of the 2008 season and went back to the top of the standings at the Monaco Grand Prix. This time, Lewis led the Championship until the final race again but this time, he had to secure the 5th place at Brazil to win the title. Lewis was in 6th place in the last lap of the race and his rival Felipe Massa was in the first place. It seemed the British would lose the championship again. Massa crossed the chequered flag and Ferrari thought Massa had won the Championship but wait. There was more to come as Hamilton overtook Timo Glock in the final lap of the race and won the title by a single point.
The following season was a disaster for the 25-year old as he was able to score only 9 points until the tenth round of the season. Lewis scored only two wins near the end of the season and five podiums to put him in the 5th place in the drivers’ standings with just 49 points in the 2009 season.
The British driver is just 4 points short of the Australian, Mark Webber, currently in this season. Hamilton hopes to score some points in the last seven races of the season especially at Spa Francorchamps and Monza, as these tracks suite the McLaren, since their F-duct helps their car to perform better on the long straights than the rest of the teams. McLaren seems strong after the Friday Practice sessions but are having problems deciding their strategy. Predictions state that it will be a rainy race at Spa Francorchamps.
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