Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he will be hoping to emulate 2007 nemesis
Fernando Alonso when he takes to the track for this weekend's French Grand Prix, seeking inspiration from the Spaniard's performance at last year's event.
With the Magny-Cours circuit not known for its overtaking opportunities, Hamilton knows that he will struggle to overcome the ten-place grid penalty that he was hit with after his Canadian Grand Prix accident two weeks ago, but is hoping that he can at least repeat Alonso's example and claw his way into the points on Sunday.
A year ago, Alonso - then Hamilton's
McLaren team-mate - suffered a gearbox problem in qualifying that denied him a chance to run in the final phase of the session, and left him tenth on the grid. Despite the track's limited passing opportunities, however, the Spaniard made the most of any opportunity that came his way, making more overtaking moves than his eventual seventh place finish suggests.
Hamilton knows that, at best, he will be starting from eleventh on the grid this weekend, and admits that grabbing whatever points are on offer may his only hope of keeping tabs on his championship rivals, but insists that he will be following Alonso's example as closely as he can.
"Fernando is absolutely an inspiration for me this weekend," Hamilton told
PA Sport, "When you look at his performance last year, he had a great race despite lots of different problems. He still had a good finish and took some points, and that is what I'm aiming for this weekend.
"It's going to be very tough, [but] anything can happen in these races, as we've seen this year. They've been up and down, a real surprise, [so] we will wait and see. I will keep my fingers crossed and do the best job I can."
The McLaren team appeared to be struggling for grip during Friday's two practice sessions, leaving Hamilton with the fourth best time of the day, behind the two Ferraris and Alonso's
Renault, which surprised by topping the afternoon session and going second overall to
Felipe Massa.
