"We know now where to develop... and that's going to make a difference in winning this championship," declares Montreal victor
Monday 12 June 2017 12:05, UK
Lewis Hamilton is hopeful Mercedes' improved understanding of his previously-misbehaving Mercedes car has signalled a turning point in the season after his dominant victory in Canada.
Hamilton successfully tamed the Mercedes 'diva' to secure a lights-to-flag victory on a near-perfect weekend for the world champions as they regained the lead of the Constructors' Championship and Hamilton reduced Sebastian Vettel's title lead to just 12 points.
Hamilton's Canada win cuts Vettel's title lead
"There were no troubles today, it was a beautiful Sunday drive," enthused Hamilton. "It's always a great feeling to deliver and to have it all under control is always an amazing feeling."
But more significant was the impression that Hamilton had the W08 under total control all weekend. After the 2017 Mercedes remained stubbornly uncooperative two weeks ago at Monaco, around-the-clock work at their Brackley headquarters facilitated the team's first one-two of the season in Montreal to puncture Ferrari's resurgent momentum.
"We gave them a lap yesterday they couldn't answer and today they had a messy race," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
"They are still very, very quick and they are still very much there. They are going to be very hard to beat. More importantly for us, we've got a better understanding of the car and hopefully we can put it in the same spot for the coming races - we know now after the last race where to develop this car moving forward and that is going to really make a difference in winning this championship.
"We haven't completely got rid of all the issues we had. We've understood the tyres a lot better, but you can't just fix it in two weeks.
"In terms of the direction of our developments, the guys in the factory now have a much better goal. The goalposts have moved but they know where it is."
Hamilton's world championship inroads could have been even deeper but for a late surge by Vettel limiting the damage as the title leader salvaged fourth having dropped down to 18th. Such was his domination, Hamilton was aware of Vettel's progress throughout the race, frequently stealing a look at his rival on the big screens littered around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
"I knew where he was," admitted Hamilton. "When he was sixth, l was like 'oh that's great', then he was fifth and l was like 'oh l hope he stays there' and then he was fourth and l was 'oh darn l hope he doesn't get any higher!'"
Fortunately for Hamilton, he didn't.
"I came here 25 points behind and now I'm 12 points behind so I'm really happy with that," he added. "The energy and the spirit in this team is the highest it has ever been."
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