Having been relatively downbeat about his chances ahead of the start of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix,
Lewis Hamilton admitted afterwards that he had been encouraged by McLaren-Mercedes' speed in the race.
The Briton had lined up only fifth on the grid – prompting him to admit that he had been ‘shocked and stunned' by
McLaren's lowly form around a circuit that has traditionally been kind to the Silver Arrows – and made it clear he would treat a podium in the race as akin to a victory [see separate story –
Click Here]. A podium is what he indeed achieved, however, running in the tight group of leading four contenders throughout, and helped by a strong getaway that saw him vault past BMW-Sauber's
Robert Kubica.
Though the 23-year-old could never quite get close enough to attack runner-up
Felipe Massa in the closing stages – ultimately coming home just under a second adrift of his Brazilian quarry – nor did he ever come under any real pressure from Kubica behind.
The result has seen Hamilton move back up into second spot in the drivers' title chase, having been forced to surrender his advantage following his Bahrain débâcle three weeks earlier. Though he may now be nine points in arrears of championship leader and Barcelona winner
Kimi Raikkonen, post-race he was in far more confident spirits than he had been prior to the lights going out.
“First of all I am really happy to hear that Heikki is ok,” he said, referring to team-mate Kovalainen's hefty impact with the circuit tyre wall in the wake of what is suspected to have been a wheel rim failure at 140mph [see separate story –
Click Here]. “During the race I saw a car had gone into the barriers and was told it was Heikki. As soon as the team knew he was ok, Ron came on the radio and told me which was a great relief.
