Hamilton eyes podium after Spanish GP qualifying improvement

Lewis Hamilton has a podium in his sights after again qualifying in the top five for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver was fourth in qualifying in Monaco but a grid penalty saw him start from seventh, and he followed that result with a fifth place on Saturday in Barcelona. With Ferrari showing solid race pace on Friday, Hamilton believes he is in the mix to score the first podium of his time with the team, having last finished a grand prix in the top three in Las Vegas last year.

“My target is to try and get to the podium; I haven't been on the podium for a long time,” Hamilton said. “It's a long way down to Turn 1. You saw the start George got last year, so I will be trying my best to get a good start. After that, it's just about managing the tires here, which is challenging. 

“Every weekend, I'm coming to the circuit for the first time with the team. The car is so much different to what I drove previous years, so through the weekend I'm having to adapt this new driving style, which is horrible. It's not an enjoyable driving style, but I'm adapting it to these circuits each time I come. I love that it's a first each weekend.”

Hamilton struggled with a change in his car’s handling on Friday but says Ferrari got to the bottom of the cause, leading to a more competitive showing that he believes shows he is making progress over one lap.

“I wouldn't say I was frustrated, I was just confused because we didn't really change anything in the car, and then all of a sudden we lost some downforce from the floor," he explained. "There was a massive shift in balance and we didn't do anything. I'd gone into P2 hoping for the same car and it wasn't the same car.

“That was a bit confusing for us, and we discovered it afterwards and rectified that today, and the car's been much better since then. We have clearly improved qualifying, which is real positive. We've got to keep building from here; we clearly don't have the pace of the guys up ahead.”