Hamilton feels ready to fight back

Lewis Hamilton says he has learned from his errors in the last race in Bahrain, and admits he is very confident ahead of the start of the European season.

The McLaren driver endured a torrid Bahrain Grand Prix, losing the lead of the championship after failing to score, and said after the race that he felt he had let his team down.

But the British driver insisted that is now in the past, and he is ready to bounce back.

“For sure, you learn something in every race, even if you win,” Hamilton told reporters at Barcelona. “I think we have come a long way and looking into the next race I feel very confident that we can do a better job.”

Hamilton reckons McLaren have made a step forward in performance thanks to the introduction of new updates for their MP4-23.

He added: “Well, there were a few [bits], there was not a lot, but we definitely made some steps forward and I think at this test everyone is doing something different.

“Some people are running slick tyres and some people are running grooves. We just focussed on our job and I think the car is feeling better and I feel a little bit more comfortable in it. We feel quite strong here.”

Last year`s championship runner-up admitted he is looking forward to the start of the European part of the season.

“I miss Bahrain and I miss being at the international races but it is great to be back in Europe. This is when it really starts getting busy and you are closer to home so it is a great feeling,” he said.

“Closer to the team, so I think we can be a bit more productive when we are back here.”

17.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Hamilton    ▪ www.autosport.com