Hamilton Feels Mercedes Is 'Closer To Front' After Second Practice Session

Saturday, 08 June 2024 at 16:00

Speaking after the second practice session in Canada, Lewis Hamilton stated he felt Mercedes is closer to the top three teams this weekend.

The first two practice sessions of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend were quite challenging for drivers and their teams in terms of collecting valuable data to adjust their setups.

The conditions changed every minute, making everything very challenging, but one driver who seemed to be in the flow was the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton was one of the first cars on the track in both practice sessions. In fact, he completed the most laps of all the drivers—11 in FP1 and 27 in FP2.

That's much more than Max Verstappen, for example, who has completed 14 laps so far, but it is important to mention that an ERS issue ended his FP2 earlier.

Looking at the timing sheets after the first two sessions, it is almost impossible to say which drivers will get the pole. Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren are the three biggest favorites.

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However, Mercedes and Aston Martin also looked very fast on the greasy track. Asked whether he is targeting fighting the cars in front, Hamilton told the media at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve:

"Honestly, it's too early to say. I feel like I'm in fighting spirits, I feel like the car is reacting to my inputs and I feel really confident out there."

"But we won't know til we get out [tomorrow]. Saturday is often a different day for us, but I'm hoping tomorrow is a good day."

The 39-year-old said before the weekend that he didn't feel like the podium was far away. The competition is super high, but the first two practice sessions seemed to have enforced his feeling of being closer to the front this weekend, as he added:

"But I think in either conditions I felt really strong today, so I'm really hopeful. I do feel like we're closer to the front this weekend."