Hamilton says Canada win 'sensational', but calls for big push
Hamilton has called for another big push from the McLaren team, in order to strengthen their lead in the championship
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Monday, 14, Jun 2010 01:06
By Adam Leveridge.
Lewis Hamilton said it was a 'sensational feeling' to cross the finish line as the winner of Sunday's Canadian grand prix, after a hard-fought, battle with Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari and the Red Bull pairing.
Hamilton grabbed pole position with an astonishing lap of the Circuit du Gilles Villeneuve in the closing seconds of Q3, gambling on a contrasting tyre strategy compared to his rivals.
The 2008 world champion led from the start on his super-soft option tyres, which had been suffering with heavy degradation throughout free practice and qualifying.
Differing pit-strategies meant there were numerous leaders, including Sebastian Buemi in the Toro Rosso, throughout the grand prix, and, despite losing track position in the pits to Alonso, McLaren's shrewd strategy proved to be the optimal one, as Hamilton was the first to cross the line, with his team-mate Jenson Button close behind in second place.
"It was an incredibly challenging afternoon, especially in the last 20 laps, when I was trying to look after my tyres while also keeping Jenson and Alonso behind me," said Hamilton.
"It wasn't easy, I can tell you that.
"This track is unique - you can never be too confident, because you really have to look after your tyres, and it's so hard to know how long you can make them last. Fernando put a lot of pressure on me.
"We had a really good battle, but, although he was pressing me hard, I was able to pull out a small gap and then maintain it.
"It was such a sensational feeling to cross the line."
However, Hamilton feels that McLaren still have a way to go to match the outright pace of the Red Bulls, calling for 'a big push' from the engineers based back at the team's Woking headquarters.
"In terms of pure pace, I still think the Red Bull car is still a little bit faster than ours," said Hamilton.
"But, as a whole, I think our package is now stronger.
"So, going forward, we need to build on the progress we've made recently, and we're going to do just that; we'll now knuckle down and make a really big effort to increase that gap.
"We've got good momentum now, so I hope we can continue our winning run through to Valencia in two weeks' time.
"The feeling and atmosphere within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is better than ever.
"The contribution that Jenson has brought is the best I've ever witnessed from a team-mate.
"He did another great job today to come from fourth to second - he's doing his part and I'm doing mine.
"The team is happier than ever. This has been a truly fantastic day."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh also believes a big push is required to continue the team's winning run, in order to cement their current advantage at the top of both the constructors' and drivers' championship tables.
"Now, we leave North America and head back to Europe, in first place in the constructors' world championship, and in first place and second place in the drivers' world championship," said Whitmarsh.
"We never under-estimate our competitors, who are working every bit as hard to win grand prix and world championships as we are.
"There's a long way to go yet, but I can say without fear of contradiction that every single person at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is working as hard as he or she possibly can to maintain our positions at the top of both championship tables from here on in through to Abu Dhabi in November."