Hamilton: No added nerves despite greater Ferrari, Red Bull threat

Hamilton: No added nerves despite greater Ferrari, Red Bull threat

 

 

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Lewis Hamilton says he is not feeling any extra nerves heading into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix despite tipping both Ferrari and Red Bull to be “really strong” at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.Hamilton has won four of the opening six races of the year for Mercedes, with the team sweeping the board for victories so far in 2019, dropping just seven points.Mercedes’ dominant start to the season has led to suggestions it could go unbeaten through 2019, but Canada has been identified as a race where Ferrari in particular could excel given its strength on straight-line speed.While Hamilton said he felt Mercedes would be stronger in Canada than it has been in the past thanks to its progress on slow- and medium-speed cornering, he still tipped Ferrari and Red Bull to be strong thanks to their power gains.“I anticipate this weekend we will be stronger than we have been in the past. But you do have these long straights,” Hamilton said.“We know that the Red Bulls and Ferraris particularly will be really strong this weekend. I’m excited for that fight.“I wouldn’t say I was more nervous about this weekend. You do notice in Monaco everyone gets a lot closer, well the top teams typically do get a lot closer, but generally everyone is more packed together. A lot of these other teams have got really great packages and are actually getting closer and closer throughout the year, which is great to see.“Here there is not a huge amount of corners. It’s a lot of straight-line speed. Honda have really picked up their pace with their engine this year. The Red Bull should be really strong, and they’re great through corners.“The Ferrari is generally the quickest car in a straight line all year long, so in the past races, we’ve managed to catch them up through the corners, but whether or not that will be the case this weekend, time will tell.“I hope that there is a real close battle between us all.”Hamilton’s hopes of taking a record-equalling seventh Canadian Grand Prix this weekend have been boosted by Mercedes’ introduction of its ‘Phase 2’ power unit, offering a performance upgrade.“It is always great when you have a new engine, being it’s fresh. This is a power circuit, so it’s come at the perfect time,” Hamilton said.“If you look at previous years, this is always the race where we bring the second engine. It is Phase 2, so it will have all new mods, slight improvements and everything. It’s not like at the beginning of the hybrid era where you make massive strides forwards or even last year. It’s small steps.”The biggest difference is that it’s brand new, it’s fresh. The old engine has done six races, it will have degradation etc. The guys have worked so hard. It’s now small percentages. It’s very much appreciated.” 

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