Sunday, May 11, 2008

HAMILTON RUES "WRONG TYRE" CHOICE - NEWS

Saturday 10th May 2008

Lewis Hamilton was left to rue chosing the wrong tyre in Q3 in Istanbul, which meant he missed out on a front row grid slot.

The McLaren driver opted to do his second run in Q3 on the harder option Bridgestone tyres, which many of the drivers had complained were difficult to get heat in to.

However, Hamilton decided to use them while his rivals put in their last laps on the softer option tyres.

The gamble didn't pay off and Hamilton found himself third on the grid behind pole-sitter Felipe Massa as well as his own McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

"It was a tough qualifying session for me," said Hamilton.

"I had a fantastic lap in Q1, and in Q2 I struggled a bit on the option tyre so I opted for the prime tyre (for Q3) because I felt it would be more consistent.

"I did it and I guess I made the wrong decision.

"It wasn't too bad. I struggled in the first Q3 lap. It was terrible and I was in the 29. The second one for sure was an improvement but still wasn't quick enough."

Hamilton, though, reckons he still has a good chance of winning the race as McLaren aren't as far away from Ferrari as initially expected.

"I think we have got a good package this weekend and myself and Heikki have shown we are up there with the Ferraris and should be able to push them in the race," he said.

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