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 05 July 2008 05:04 BST

Hamilton joy at putting title challenge back on track

Sunday, 11 May 2008 19:50
The next race is the Monaco grand prix with Hamilton looking to better his second-place finish last year
Lewis Hamilton admits he was thrilled to break up the Ferrari monopoly after finishing second in the Turkish grand prix at Istanbul.

The Briton finished 3.8 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa, a result which moves both drivers seven points behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' championship.

World champion Raikkonen took third after failing to get past Hamilton. The Finn collided with Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heiki Kovalainen on the first corner.

Hamilton, who had been leading the race but went for a three-stop strategy, said he did not regret changing from soft to hard tyres.

"Bridgestone were concerned the tyre would fail, as it did last year (in Turkey). But the team did a great job through all the pit stops," the 23-year-old said.

"I'm thrilled to have come second from third [on the grid.

"We knew it was going to be tough to challenge the Ferraris. We were hoping to get some points and finishing in the top five was good.

"But the balance of the car was good and I kept pushing and pushing, so I'm happy."

But it was Massa's day at Istanbul Park, three of his seven career wins have now come in Turkey.

The Brazilian said it was a perfect day after scoring the 200th point in his Ferrari career.

"It was a very difficult race, with Lewis pushing me hard, but I thought he was light (on fuel) at the start," Massa said.

"Then when he pitted ahead of me, my team told me straight away he was on three stops. That was a help because he was very strong and I couldn't hold him.

"I knew I had a chance because three stops is optimistic, so it was difficult, but we made it.

"Three wins is great here, and I think I can get a passport here now."End of story


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