Hamilton backs McLaren to challenge
January 05, 2012 14:27:20 UK
Former world champion Lewis Hamilton believes the new McLaren car can help the team close the gap on Red Bull in 2012.
Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to mounting another F1 challenge.Hamilton, along with the rest of the McLaren team, was left frustrated by the dominance of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel in 2011 but he is excited by the prospect of the new season. McLaren are 1.83 to win the 2012 constructors' championship while Red Bull can be backed at 2.75.
"From what I've seen, the new McLaren seems a lot better than last year's," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Basically, the Red Bull is an evolution of the aerodynamic concepts introduced in 2009. Midway through 2011 it was phenomenal, it was at the highest level and on top of that it almost never broke down.
"By contrast, when we had the same reliability, we lacked the same performance."
From what I've seen, the new McLaren seems a lot better than last year's.
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton won three races last year, as did team-mate Jenson Button, and he insists if the team can start the year on a winning note, there is no reason why that can't be maintained over the course of the season. Hamilton is 3.75 to win the drivers' championship and Button is available at 8.00.
"During the winter you always dream of arriving at the start of the season with a car that goes quick immediately," said Hamilton. "This hasn't happened in the last two seasons. I want it to happen this year. If we start well, we'll stay at the top more easily."
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