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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) Despite the resurgence of Formula 1, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton maintains that Ferrari has the upper hand
The defending champion found his nose ahead of Sebastian Vettel at the German Grand Prix the last weekend. but only with a stroke of luck after his main rival crashed leading the race.
"Ferrari really took a step forward, especially in their qualifying performance, we have no illusions, we have to fight hard against them," Hamilton told reporters Thursday at the Hungarian GP. "They have a slight advantage right now, we are running a team that is faster than us this year, and last year was more balanced, this year is more swinging in their direction."
Hamilton was undoubtedly the fastest last year, breaking Michael Schumacher's record for pole position, but the British driver – who describes himself as a "perfectionist" – thinks he's not doing enough in qualifying. Nor does he say that he starts racing pretty well.
"There are parts of my performance that are not perfect this year," said Hamilton. "Last year, I I was excellent in qualifying, this year it's an area I have to work on. (1965: 00002) Considering that the tight circuit of Hungaroring is among the most difficult to overcome – Monaco is the hardest – Hamilton is under pressure to get pole for Sunday's race. Vettel won here last year from pole, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in a Ferrari 1-2
"I have to climb to the front row.I need P1," Hamilton said. "The position is mostly here."
Although Ferrari paid the price for Vettel's error at Hockenheim, tilting behind the championships of drivers and builders, that does not change the fact that Mercedes made some unusual mistakes. There are three races, at the GP of Austria, both cars have retired. There were also strategy and communication errors. In Germany, Hamilton qualified 14th after his car suffered a hydraulic failure.
"We have not accomplished 100 percent every weekend," Hamilton said. "Our reliability has been exceptional in the past, yet Hamilton seems to be better off the pressure than Vettel – who made big mistakes this year and last time."
"I'm really positioning myself, mentally and physically." , said Hamilton with challenge.
He took advantage of the harsh conditions at Hockenheim to highlight his reputation as one of the greats of F1 in the rain, along with Schumacher, Jim Clark, and Ayrton Senna. 19659002] Hamilton seemed to like the challenge when the rain fell, the benefits of the drivers are greatly reduced and instinct takes over.
"Our cars today, with technology and data, all that stuff … in the dry, it seems a little easier for the pilots to get closer to each other, "he said. "But when it comes to these conditions, when it really feels, it's when it's most amplified and that's when I think the driver is able to make the biggest difference. "
F1 champion Damon Hill and Martin Brundle, both too critical in his opinion.
When Hamilton attended a new race of the German Grand Prix, he published an article on Instagram: "I find it fun to listen to the ex-drivers commenting, not a single any of them could find a good thing to say. "
Hamilton removed the post, but stands firm by his comments.
"There were some things that were not perceived (correctly)," Hamilton said. "Or some things that have been missed."
One of these was the fact that he was driving an incredible three seconds faster lap than anyone in the pouring rain.
"I could not explain the difference I was making, the different lines I would choose," Hamilton said. "(Since we had race drivers (old) commenting, I would have thought that they would choose these things and they did not do it." When I look at the race, I can see how Sebastian (Vettel) entered the bend and positioned the car (before crushing it) … that too was not stressed. "
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More AP Auto Racing : http: //racing.ap.org
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Jerome Pugmire is on www.twitter.com/jeromepugmire
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