"I just want to get back out on track," Hamilton admits, "My aims remain the same, to take it race-by-race and keep focused on scoring good points for myself and the team. The French round of the GP2 championship last year was not my best weekend - I had a coming together in the first race and therefore started race two in 19th, but I did make my way up through the field to finish fifth and score some points. It is possible to overtake here and, although you always want to be on pole, you can pass and the short pit-lane means there are more strategy options."
Alonso, meanwhile, finished second to
Michael Schumacher in France last year and, with the German now safely in retirement, will be hoping to go one better to get his title challenge back on track.
"I have always liked racing at this track," he says, "When you hear people talk about circuits that are technical, Magny-Cours is definitely one of them. My favourite sections are the two high-speed chicanes at the back of the circuit. We go through them at speeds of up to 200km/h, which is very fast for a chicane. It's very special to drive through them and unique in
F1.
"After the back-to-back races, it seems like a long time since we last raced, so I want to get back on track. The MP4-22 is a quick car and I hope we can get the best out of it at Magny-Cours. There are some similarities between Magny-Cours and Monaco, and the car performed well at Monaco, so I am looking forward to getting it out on track in France."
Team CEO Martin Whitmarsh admits that, while Hamilton and Alonso remain the class of the field at present,
Ferrari, especially, won't lie down for long.
