Indeed, Hamilton came close to triumphing around the tortuous streets of the principality last year too, and McLaren is expected to hold an edge over its arch-rival from Maranello both there and a fortnight later in Montreal, scene of the former GP2 Champion's maiden grand prix success eleven months ago.
The Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport President Norbert Haug were equally effusive about both their young charge's performance in Istanbul and
McLaren's chances in the races to come, and confident that the squad is now firmly on the comeback trail after a stuttering start to the season.
“Today we saw a truly phenomenal drive from Lewis,” underlined Dennis, “in which he optimised a three-stop strategy that we were forced to adopt as a consequence of concerns we had with his tyres. As a result of the eight points that his second-placed finish netted him, he closed the gap on Kimi in the world drivers' championship to just seven points. I believe we have closed the gap to our main competition, which gives the team a great boost before heading for Monte Carlo.”
“A really exciting grand prix and, I think, quite entertaining for the spectators,” added Haug. “We had an aggressive strategy for Lewis which almost paid off, as our aims were first place in both qualifying and the race.
“Lewis drove a great race with good speed. His overtaking manoeuvre when he passed Massa was surely enjoyed by lots of television spectators, as it does not happen too often in
Formula 1 that the leading car is passed. We will all continue to work very hard, and are looking forward to the season's highlight in Monte Carlo in two weeks' time.”
