Hamilton praises McLaren car after Melbourne victory
Sunday, 16 Mar 2008 10:49
Hamilton was delighted with his car's performance in Melbourne
Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to McLaren's team tactics following his victory in the first race of the Formula One season in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old said the strategy of bringing him in early for all of his pit stops helped him keep out of trouble in a race where all but seven cars failed to finish.
Hamilton felt his win in Australia had been the most polished of his career and said he had learnt how to control himself in the car more following experience gained last season.
"I wouldn't say it's the perfect win. But I think in terms of managing my tyres, controlling my pace and confidence and being comfortable in the car, it's the best race I've had so far," said Hamilton.
"The team did a fantastic job as always, and the car was phenomenal, a complete dream to drive compared to last year. They pulled me in early on both stops and that kept us out of trouble."
Defending world champions Ferrari were disappointed with their performance over the weekend in Melbourne.
Following Kimi Raikkonen's disastrous qualifying session neither of their cars finished the race on Sunday, although the Finn picked up a point thanks to Rubens Barrichello's disqualification.
Sporting director Luca Baldisserri said: "We did not work well on any level and this is the consequence of that. We have to look at every detail of this weekend to understand what went wrong and how we can improve."
"It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing," added Raikkonen.
Ferrari will have to react quickly if they are to improve ahead of the next race in Malaysia next weekend.