Zoom Hamilton expects the MP4-24 will improve, but won't be a title-winning car

Starting from 14th on the grid at last week-end's Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton already knew that the improvements brought to his McLaren MP4-24 did not bring the leap forward he had wished for.

Fighting hard on the track with a car that sometimes felt as if it were racing on ice, the reigning World Champion gave it his best to reach ninth position at the finish. With team-mate Heikki Kovalainen having retired early in the race with a gearbox failure, the result meant a zero points score for McLaren in Spain.

"We're unfortunate that our car is not quick enough at the moment, but that hasn't stopped me from pushing hard in all the races," says Hamilton. "Even though I didn't finish in the points in Spain, I pushed like crazy throughout the whole race, didn't make any mistakes and got the maximum from the car. As a racing driver, you have to be satisfied with that, and I was pleased with my performance."

"To finish ninth at a circuit we knew wouldn't suit us wasn't the end of the world," he adds. "Most importantly, it's a big improvement for the guys in the team. I just want to say that the whole team has done a fantastic job - they really have, since I've been in this team I've maybe had one or two reliability issues with the car in 40 races. And touch wood that will stay the same."

McLaren are continuing development work on the car but with the ban on in-season track testing, the team will be relying on in-house simulation and analysis to improve the package.

Hamilton remains optimistic as he does not consider the Barcelona circuit as a true test of the car's capabilities.

"We knew the Spanish Grand Prix was going to be tough for our car given the results of the test a couple of months ago. We're hoping that things improve greatly from this point onwards as Barcelona is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar for our car," he explains.

"I think we can finish in the points regularly but we'll continue to struggle at some of the faster circuits. But hopefully we can introduce the necessary performance upgrades to make us competitive everywhere."

In the drivers' standings, Hamilton currently holds a 32-point deficit on championship leader Jenson Button, while McLaren are 55 points behind Brawn GP in the constructors' title race.

The numbers are therefore not looking good despite the dozen Grand Prix to come this year, so the team's approach to the remainder of the season will focus on winning races instead of crowns.

"I'm pushing as hard as ever when I drive the car, they are working like crazy to develop the car but the car is just not where it needs to be for me to defend the title," Hamilton admits.

"But that won't stop us all from fighting hard and pushing to the absolute maximum at every race - because that's got to be our motivation now."

Daniel BASTIEN
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