With his Mercedes contract negotiations finally complete and his new deal announced, Lewis Hamilton says he and the team can now concentrate on what matters most - racing. And the first task is to return to the top step of the podium in Monaco, a Grand Prix he last won in 2008. How will he do it? The world champion has a plan…
Q: Lewis, congratulations on the extension of your contract with Mercedes. Can you please tell us about this from your point of view?
Lewis Hamilton: Of course this is fantastic news, and also that we could finally get it out. I knew that this would happen already for quite some time. Now we can focus on racing again, as also the team can be confident that they have sealed everything for the future with both drivers. Since I joined Mercedes GP I have been blown away with their professionalism and the whole team that has been put around me. We have achieved incredible things in a much shorter time span than I anticipated. I feel that this is the best team and the best package for me to achieve what I have dreamed of.
Q: How important is the Monaco Grand Prix for you personally?
LH: To be honest, it is as important as any race. Of course it is special in its spectacle because of the weather, the yachts and everything that surrounds it, but ultimately it is another race - maybe the most difficult one, but then again nothing more or less than another race. Generally speaking Monaco is for sure also my favourite track, as it is so dangerous and difficult. You are going through the streets so fast, that one cannot even come close to imagining how crazy this is unless you have done it yourself. Within myself I have the challenge to do better this weekend. I have not won here since 2008, and back then I felt that it was not perfect. There are various things that I feel I need to improve here, and this is my challenge. And naturally I want to win.
Q: How important do you think qualifying will be for the outcome of the race?
LH: I think that qualifying is always the key here. Unless something very strange happens, which you never know here, as in 2008 I started on P3 only and won the race in the end. Other than that I think it is very important that your Saturday is a smooth one. I have not been on pole position here yet, so this is for sure something that I want to do.
Q: What preparations did you perform for this weekend?
LH: For the last two weeks I have luckily been in the same time zone, and there were almost no flights. Also I have been training here of course, but also I have analysed my performance from the last years at this race. I came to the conclusion that I have been fast, but not perfect. As I said before, I have not been on pole and the race that I won was from third position on the grid, so there was luck involved as well. I thought a lot about how to be better than the last years, as ultimately I had the car to do so the last two years, but I didn’t. I am trying to come up with a new solution to be better - whether it will happen or not we will see on Sunday.
