‘My Best Race Ever’ Briton Says of Battle to Second Place

Lewis Hamilton last night said his powerful drive here ranked as his “best ever race”, even though problems with his tyres meant it was ultimately not enough to secure victory over his Ferrari rival Felipe Massa. Despite being forced into a three-stop strategy he drove consistently fast throughout the 58 laps.

“I am so thrilled with this result and I think this is the best race ever for me,” said the McLaren driver, who has won five grands prix. “It’s not about winning but about feeling that you extracted 100% from yourself and the car as I did today; before the race our prediction was that we would finish fifth so second is such a bonus.

“I was not happy with my performance yesterday [in Saturday qualifying] and perhaps if I had managed to get the car on pole position I might have won.

“We knew it was going to be tough to challenge the Ferraris and were hoping to get points – a top five would have been great – but the [handling] balance was great. On hard tires I was able to keep up with Felipe and overtake him. I was able to keep pushing. At the end the softer tire was definitely the worse tyre so I am much happier.”

His body language said it all. As he sat after the race alongside the Ferrari drivers Massa and Kimi Raikkonen he radiated the confidence of a man who knew he had delivered an impeccable 100% effort. “Bridgestone thought the tire was going to fail like it did last year and they made us do a three-stop as it was the safest route to go,” he said. “Unfortunately that put us in not such a strong position to win the race. However, I am given a problem and I deal with it. That is why I still believe we are the best.”

Hamilton said that in fact he had had no real problems with the tires during the race. “The team did a fantastic job, the pit stops were great and the car felt superb, so we all kept our spirits up.”

Ron Dennis, the team chairman, said: “Today we saw a truly phenomenal drive from Lewis, in which he optimized a three-stop strategy we were forced to adopt as a consequence of concerns over his tires.”

McLaren’s immediate priority is to prepare for the next two races, Monaco on May 25 and Montreal – the scene of Hamilton’s debut win last year – on June 8. They will be testing next week at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France and working particularly closely with Bridgestone to ensure the tyre problems do not recur.

Massa was delighted with his second win of the season, Ferrari’s fourth, and his third consecutive win in Turkey. “I think I can get a passport here now,” said the Brazilian. “It’s just fantastic to drive here. It gives me a lot of pleasure. It’s been just great to come here and win again at a track where I won my first race.”

He is now second-equal with Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, seven points behind Raikkonen. “I am competing; I am in the fight,” he said.

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