Lewis Hamilton thinks Mercedes have a better chance of a strong result in Spain

After an encouraging finish in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton is hopeful that lower temperatures in Barcelona and a new hard tyre compound will help Mercedes deliver a strong performance in this week's Spanish GP.

Hamilton's early-season form for his new employers has confounded the widespread scepticism which greeted his decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes at the close of 2012. Third in the standings, Hamilton currently trails World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel by just thirty points in the title race. But as the former championship winner knows full well, there is a long way still to travel before a genuine championship challenge can be proclaimed. "What we've achieved so far has been incredible and we won't take it for granted, but hopefully we will have better results going forward," he remarked. "We have an upgrade package just like everyone else here, but this team does things differently to what I was used to in the past [at McLaren] where you didn't do much in the first four races in terms of upgrades and then had a new package for the European season. This team tries to bring upgrades for every race." Mercedes' efforts to improve the W04 have included a simulator session for Robert Kubica, the former Renault driver whose career was brought to a shuddering halt over two years ago when he suffered a horrific accident whilst rallying. "It's fantastic if he is back driving because I grew up racing Robert he is absolutely one of the best," added Hamilton. Now it's over to Mercedes to prove that they are too are among the best this weekend in Barcelona.