Mercedes’ Friday performance encourages Hamilton

2013 Korean Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton says he is encouraged by Mercedes strong showing in Friday practice ahead of the Korean Grand Prix.

Hamilton was quickest in both practice sessions and his race engineer said his long-run pace was “very competitive” during the second session.

“It’s been a good day,” said Hamilton. “Really happy with the way everything’s gone and we’ve got some improvements to make for sure set-up wise but we look like we’re competitive like we were in the last race.”

“I definitely feel like I have a bit of a better foundation this weekend. Today, I can’t remember the last time I had a really strong Friday so let’s hope that continues for the weekend.”

Hamilton added he expects to make further gains: “The car feels good, I’ve got some tweaks to make to it but it should be good for tomorrow.”

2013 Korean Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
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    14 comments on “Mercedes’ Friday performance encourages Hamilton”

    1. Hammy, please DON’T make any tweaks/adjustments or any other kind of changes to the car! They almost always gets you lost again on the setup path and you have to revert to Friday specs for the quali!

    2. Nice to see Lewis happy and all smiles.
      Lets hope the competitiveness stays and Newey doesn’t discover something over night to add to that rocket and kill everyone’s joy (RBR fans not included here of course)

    3. C’mon Lewis put the car on pole . That would make my day tomorrow :D

      1. Yeah, that would make my weekend. Well, if he could pull out a win that would make my weekend, but poll is a nice start :-)

      2. +1,000,000,000,000,000

    4. Well, for once we won’t see him sulking during the weekend about how his car isn’t quite as good as Vettel’s…well, that is until Vettel out-classes him and then he continues moaning about how he was pushing as hard as he could, but the car just wasn’t good enough.

      Just to clarify, I’m not a big fan of Vettel, but I think I’m starting to become one simply because I’m fed up with Alonso and Hamilton fans saying that his achievements (And I quote from the Sky broadcast in practice) ‘a B-grade driver in an A-grade car’. I really like Alonso, but his die-hard fans are just getting too much, and I’m sick of Hamilton sulking like a little kid every time Vettel wins and he doesn’t. (Monza being the exception when he actually recognized that he made an error, ironically when it was partly the car for a portion of it).

      1. @jamiefranklinf1 I don’t say that ;-) Vettel is an A grade driver in an A+ grade car ;-) .

        Besides , Talent wise it is extremely difficult to choose between the big 4 as they are all brilliant . Each person to their own favorites .

        Hamilton sulking like a little kid

        I think people tend to forget how vettel behaves when he loses or crashes ( and by losing I don’t mean P3) .

        All these drivers throw their own tantrums . It’s all part of the game . Though I like Vettel’s humour very much and respect him for his driving skills and grit , he seems to come across as a bit too churlish for my liking.

        1. Hmmm…I think of F1 drivers as more professional than is being portrayed here. And they’re also human. And I think that fans, especially die-hard ones, are going to have their various opinions, and that’s just life, and the F1 drivers should feel blessed that fans care that much. I don’t know why one would expect anything less from die-hard fans, than that they see things in a light that favours their fave driver.

          I think for every time LH has appeared to ‘sulk’ the reality is he has been hard on himself for making a mistake, or on he and the team for not finding a better setup etc etc. but I really doubt it is ‘sulking like a little kid’. Frustration. Competitiveness. Eagerness to do better for the team and it’s sponsors. Burning desire to win. That’s how I prefer to think of how it is.

      2. I was very annoyed by someone calling Vettel a ‘B grade driver’ on Sky F1 last night. I hope that it’s a minority view. It would be a great shame to have a lot of the F1 viewing public thinking a relatively average driver is going to be a quadruple world champion. Vettel is brilliant, but that doesn’t mean Hamilton Alonso or Raikkonen are not also fantastic drivers. A lot of fans should remember that.

        1. W (@yesyesyesandyesagain)
          4th October 2013, 16:24

          I’m sure every driver on the grid would gladly welcome the ‘B-grade’ label and boos if it meant being four time world champion. It is clear that watching Vettel dominate the last four years has caused drivers, commentators, and fans to boil over in frustration, leading to some of the ridiculous comments you increasingly hear. Alonso and Hamilton just watched five years (if you count 2009) of their careers swirl away down the toilet while some German kid and a team with no sponsors, no money and no prestige (Brawn) stomped them, any of us would get frustrated too.

          I’d love to see the look on Alonso’s face when, and if, Vettel goes to Ferrari, wins another world championship, and becomes every Ferrari fan’s dream driver.

          1. Swirl away down the toilet? Nah. I’m sure they’ve had some fun along the way, fighting the good fight, trying their best, knowing there’s no guarantees in racing, knowing that sometimes your best is all you can do and someone else might just go one notch better…meantime, they’re living a glamorous life and making a pile of money and their families will want for nothing.

            1. W (@yesyesyesandyesagain)
              4th October 2013, 21:33

              I find it hard to believe that drivers of the caliber of Alonso and Hamilton go to sleep at night thinking, “gee… I lost today by thirty seconds but I tried my best, oh well at least I had fun”. They haven’t dedicated their entire lives to driving cars faster than anyone else on the planet in order to finish second. I’m sure they appreciate how lucky they are to have been granted the opportunities they enjoy, but they are also driven by the desire to win and be the best in the world.

              Now, drivers further down the grid, most of them likely understand they have no chance of ever winning a title and are just happy to get the chance to compete at the highest level.

        2. (@jamiefranklinf1) (@yesyesyesandyesagain) (@colossal-squid) (@hamilfan)

          That was my tweet he read out, and I stand by what I said.

    5. Usually when Hamilton moans how bad the car is, he’ll fight for pole and the race win. Interesting to see if the reverse happens this time.

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