Hamilton Claims Pole At Indy Race

Topics:  Lewis Hamilton, United States Grand Prix

Anthony Fontanelle
June 21, 2007

Formula One’s newbie rookie Lewis Hamilton claimed another victory at Sunday’s Indy race. Despite the fact that he’s a newcomer, the 22-year-old Briton is defying the mantra ‘no one is a born master of his craft.’ Sunday’s race was his second successive pole.

The Briton’s knowledge of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was honed from media reports, but with each practice session on the track, he has started to master the place. That knowledge paid off in Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix. "Getting my second pole here is even better than the first," said Hamilton, whose team changed engines after Friday's practices. "When I came across the line and the team said I had P1 (the pole), I was screaming in my helmet."

Last Sunday, everybody chased Hamilton, whose euphoria over his remarkable victory has settled down to a calm confidence. "To be on the pole twice within a week is fantastic," Hamilton said. "I like North America! It's a challenge to come to a track for the first time and I have learned new things every single corner and every single lap. The car is working well and the team has done a great job; hopefully the team will be able to make the best of it in the race."

“Lewis is a great talent and both McLaren and Mercedes invested in his career. Ron (Dennis) gave him his first chance and both Ron and Martin (Whitmarsh) have supported Lewis ever since. He definitely learnt a lot during his Formula Three years in Germany and in his GP2 season in 2006,” said Norbert Haug of McLaren. “Lewis has been supported by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz for nine years now and has been a part of our motorsport family for a long time. He is strong and has learnt a lot - he can handle the pressure that is on him.”

Asked how Alonso is coping with the fact that his biggest competition is his less-experienced team mate, Haug said: “Fernando has not only chosen a new challenge with a new team, but also with a new team mate. The competition between our two drivers is a positive one as they respect each other. This competition is also fruitful for the whole team and provides interesting battles for the spectators. We would much rather have this situation than one in which one driver was miles away from the other.”

With McLaren 35 points above the Ferrari team in the constructors’ championship, the latter is keen to make necessary improvements for France. After the enduring and disappointing results in the past couple of races and the fact that the McLaren team is getting the lion’s share of the points, the Ferrari team is expected to exert more effort in the coming races. “No doubt that we are not happy about the result,” explained Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s sporting director. “Third and fourth is not our standard, because we wanted to come here to North America to try to reduce the gap and we did the opposite because we lost 15 points.”

According to Luca Baldisserri, Ferrari’s head of track operations, the team’s recent problems have for the most part stemmed from poor qualifying performances. “The problem is that being behind in qualifying means that we will have a difficult race,” he explained. “We have a completely different aerodynamic package to try at Silverstone. So hopefully we can have another step aerodynamically.”

Aside from the Ferrari, BMW Sauber team also needs a significant amount of improvement to move forward in the championship race. Enthusiasts expect the vehicles’ BMW spark plug wires and other parts to be in superb condition to boost the driver’s performance.

Source:  Amazines.com