Lewis Hamilton — Bellazon

Chic_Raul_ista

Posts: 17473

#61

Monaco

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madristar

Posts: 3672

#62

Hamilton: Reliability will be key

Lewis Hamilton is hoping reliability emerges as the difference over the next two races between glory and being an also ran.

The chasm that exists between Hamilton and Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel was evident again after a dominant day for the Milton Keynes-based team in practice for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton found himself half a second adrift in the morning - a time that stretched to almost seven tenths of a second in the afternoon - and that does not bode well ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

"The car felt good, but it felt low on downforce. I need more grip, but we just don't have it," said Hamilton after the two 90-minute sessions.

"Unfortunately our limit is still half a second off the pace of the Red Bull, even though I'm getting everything I can out of the car.

"You can gain a tenth here a tenth there, but when you have such a big gap, those guys can relax a little more.

"I'm at the maximum, but the car won't stick to the road like the Red Bull does, so in terms of pure pace in the dry, we simply can't compete with them.

"They're ahead, but then with rain, engines, reliability, they are all going to play a major part in these next two races.

"I hope our reliability is an advantage for us."

The one variable that could shake up matters is that rain is being forecast for qualifying, which Hamilton believes could help his cause.

In need of a strong result to keep his title hopes alive as he is 21 points behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Hamilton added: "What I know is this year's car is much better than last year's in the wet.

"So I feel confident if it is wet we should be able to fight to get into Q3 and fight for the front row.

"The Red Bulls and Ferraris seem to be generally quicker, so they must have more downforce than us, which will help them, but being wet it makes it more of a lottery.

"We'll have a good go at it. The car is quite good in the wet, so hopefully it will make it a little easier for us."