McLaren-Mercedes number one
Lewis Hamilton has predicted that it will be crucial to qualify well in Turkey this coming weekend.
Hamilton lined-up fifth on the grid last time out in Spain, before bringing his MP4-23 home in third, 'best of the rest' after the Ferraris of
Kimi Raikkonen and
Felipe Massa, who were the class of the field.
Now the circus heads to Istanbul for the fifth round in the 2008
FIA F1 World Championship and Lewis is keen to better the fifth place finish he managed in 2007 at the 'Speed Park' and at the very least get the final place on the rostrum.
"Qualifying was surprising close in Spain, both at the front of the grid and in the midfield," he noted. "Whilst there are clear chances to overtake at the Istanbul Speed Park, it is going to be vital to qualify well.
"It is a fantastic circuit. It is quite demanding, particularly through turn eight, but it provides a good challenge. I always look forward to the race and hope to improve on last year's result.
"The balance of the car felt good in Spain, and this is really key at Turkey because of the high speed corners. You need to have a stable balance to be quick through them, such as turn three.
"You also need a very stable car through turn eight, to ensure you conserve your
Bridgestone Potenzas and that you are able to carry speed through there. This section of the track is key as you can gain a lot of time."
As for the fact Turkey is one of the few anti-clockwise races, Hamilton added that it is not a concern for him, although he has done some extra preparations to ensure he is in top shape.
"The majority of the tracks we race at during the year are clockwise, so it is inevitable that the right side of your next gets stronger," he explained.
"As a result, you do need to prepare the left side of your neck a little bit more to make sure that it doesn't weaken over the course of the race weekend.
"I have spent some time doing this with my trainer since Spain so it shouldn't be a problem."
McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh meanwhile noted that the Woking-based squad is determined to learn lessons from what happened in Barcelona.
