Lewis Hamilton believes he is in a “fantastic” place to end Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg’s winning streak at the Monaco Grand Prix – not that he will lose any sleep should he fall short this weekend.
– Hamilton signs three-year contract extension with Mercedes
– Rosberg happy to see Mercedes battle with Hamilton continue
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The reigning Formula One world champion has begun his title defence with three wins and approaches round six fresh from signing a lucrative three-year deal with the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton wants to celebrate that contract by getting back to winning ways with the “perfect weekend” in Monte Carlo, having lost to Mercedes team-mate Rosberg last time out in Spain.
Victory saw the German close the gap to 20 points and a third straight victory on the streets of the principality would see that shrink further.
Awesome day today! Great job by the team! @MercedesAMGF1 #TeamLH #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/L2uuCfqzJh
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 21, 2015
Hamilton is confident of thwarting his team-mate, though and impressed in practice on Thursday. He was 0.74 seconds ahead of second-placed Rosberg in a rain-affected second practice, with Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen more than a second behind Hamilton in third and fourth.
“I feel good coming into this weekend,” the British driver said ahead of Saturday’s final practice and qualifying. “I’ve trained hard over the last two weeks and I feel mentally and physically fantastic. How that comes out on the track, we will see.
“I have not won here since 2008 and even then it was not a spectacular weekend in terms of how quick I was. This is my third year where potentially I have a car that can win here and Nico has won the last two, so I need to make some changes and I am confident I can do that.”
Hamilton knows today will be crucial in determining the result in Monaco, echoing compatriot Jenson Button’s assertion that it is probably more important than Sunday due to the difficulty in overtaking on the street course.
He did everything to try and get past Rosberg last year without success and knows qualifying will be vital to preventing his Mercedes team-mate winning a third in a row here – something only Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Graham Hill have achieved.
“If he gets that, he gets that,” Hamilton said. “I want to win the championship ultimately. “This is just another race that adds to the big picture. There is more beyond this weekend. Your life does not start or stop this weekend.
“It is great if you have it and a great accomplishment and experience, but get the points. Naturally I want to win, but I want to win the world championship, which is way more important than this race.”
