Hamilton cautious over Spa changes

Lewis Hamilton may be riding the crest of a wave at present, but he has played down expectations ahead of Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion is close to relinquishing his crown as he trails current title leader Jenson Button by 45 points with six races remaining.

But Hamilton is the man in form in his McLaren ahead of tackling one of his favourite circuits this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.

A return to winning ways in Hungary last month was followed at the weekend by second spot in the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday where he was denied another victory by a pit call mix-up.

But with 18 points from his last two races, after previously taking nine from nine, the 24-year-old's first-half-of-the-season woes are firmly a thing of the past.

"Before the recent upgrades, we'd have been hopeful of getting into the top 10," remarked Hamilton.

"But now we're regularly hoping for a win or to finish second, and that's a big difference and very encouraging.

"We're definitely strong again, but we're not fastest. With KERS, we are there or thereabouts, but we still lack two or three tenths (of a second) to the Brawns.

"Hopefully we can make further changes to our aerodynamic package, so Spa will be an interesting test for us."

Hamilton, though, is far from anticipating the 4.35-mile Spa track - the longest on the Formula One calendar - to be totally to the liking of his revamped car.

"I don't think we'll be as competitive as we've been at the last few races because Spa is a circuit where you need a lot of downforce," added Hamilton.

"I think Brawn, Red Bull and even Ferrari will be fast there. It's a high-speed circuit and Ferrari have always been very quick there, so I'm expecting Kimi (Raikkonen) to be quick.

"It should also suit the Red Bulls because it's very high speed and flowing, and they have great downforce.

"Like most races these days, it's going to be very competitive. For ourselves, we need to ensure we are competitive without KERS, so when we use it, it will give us the advantage that we need."

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh, however, feels recent alterations to the car will benefit Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

The McLaren has previously been abysmal on high-speed circuits, but with the race at Spa followed by another fast track at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, Whitmarsh said: "I think we have made some progress.

"I think we have the ability now, with the revised wheelbase, to play a little bit with the weight distribution which I think was not in the right place for high-speed corners.

"I think we have some downforce, which is quite handy in high-speed corners.

"I can't honestly predict where we will be there (in Spa). I think, relatively, we will be much more competitive than we would have been.

"It's clear we need to keep pushing, and continue to improve the car. We want to be in a position where we dominate qualifying and then carry it into the race."


Source: espn