Lewis Hamilton confident with McLaren’s long-run pace

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is confident with the team’s long-run pace ahead of tomorrows Canadian Grand Prix, a race which the Brit has won twice before throughout his career. After qualifying on the front row for the race, Hamilton will be looking to capitalize on that with his first win of 2012.

Although the Briton will start tomorrows race from 2nd on the grid, he initially struggled in the early part of qualifying after dominating the Friday practice sessions at the start of the weekend. With McLaren suffering a less-than-successful last couple of races, Hamilton will be striving to take his third victory around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, and his first since the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“I struggled a little in Q1 and Q2, and I wasn’t sure about my ultimate pace at first, but, fortunately, in the end, I pulled it all together for Q3.” Said Lewis Hamilton, “It was tough trying to get the tyres to switch on properly – today’s warmer temperatures made that trickier for us, I think. And, remember, our long-run pace on Friday looked good, so I’ll definitely be looking to go forward in the race. Having said all that, I’ll be doing absolutely everything I can to look after the tyres.”

After a productive day for Hamilton on Friday, the 27-year-old hinted at the possibility of teams running a one-stop strategy throughout the race. This tactic was used during the Monaco Grand Prix last time out, and with the Brit running for more than 30 laps on the super-soft tyre compound on Friday, a one-stop strategy could become a reality on Sunday.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1