Lewis warns rivals: We're looking strong

MCLAREN

Thursday 22nd May 2008

Lewis Hamilton's love affair with Monaco continued in Thursday's free practice when the Brit clocked the fastest lap time of the day.

Hamilton enters this weekend's Monaco GP as one of the favourites to win the race. Not only was he runner-up last season but the track also plays to the strengths of McLaren's F1 cars.

And that was evident on Thursday when the 23-year-old posted a 1:15.140 to beat the chance packing by almost four-tenths of a second.

"I simply love Monaco and enjoy every single moment I get to spend on the track," said the Brit, who is third in the Drivers' standings on 28 points.

"The car felt great almost immediately and I was able to show a good pace from the very beginning.

"As the circuit evolved throughout both practice sessions we made some good progress with both the set-up and tyre evaluation. I spent the first session on the same set of tyres.

"There is a long way to go, but I enjoy this so much and we will work hard to continue making progress."

As for his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, the Finn was satisfied with his day's running, which saw him finish fifth on the timesheets.

"A positive start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, and I am confident there is still more to come," said Kovalainen.

"Towards the end of the second session when I put on a new set of tyres we had made some set-up changes which were not as positive as we thought they would be.

"In addition I wasn't pleased with my lap, so I am confident that we will continue to improve in Saturday's practice session.

"It's always great to drive around this track, and it's almost impossible to describe what it feels like. I can't wait for the rest of the Monaco Grand Prix."

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