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You Are Here: Home» Sport News » Lewis Hamilton says he can still catch Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, last updated at 22:59 GMT, Saturday, 11 June 2011 23:59 UK


Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton 'on ragged edge'
Lewis Hamilton still believes he can win the world championship this year despite Sebastian Vettel's dominant form.
Hamilton was downbeat after Red Bull's Vettel took pole in Canada, saying: "Vettel's gone, he's on his way, he's very difficult to catch for us."
But hours later, he said: "There's still a long way to go. We're only a third of the way through the season.
"I still feel we can win the world championship somehow."
Vettel, the reigning champion, has a 58-point lead over Hamilton in the championship after winning five of the first six races and finishing second to the McLaren driver in the only race he did not win.
That means Hamilton would have to win two races and take a sixth place without the German scoring a point just to draw level.
But Hamilton is drawing solace from an impending rule change, which will ban so-called off-throttle blowing of diffusers from the British Grand Prix.
Red Bull have been exploiting the technology longer than any other leading team, although it remains to be seen whether any one outfit will be hurt more than their rivals following the change.
Hamilton said: "The great thing is the rules are changing so that might help. But the reality is he has nearly a three-race gap in terms of points.
"That doesn't mean we can't reel him in, but he's had pole position every race until now [Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber actually took pole in the Spanish GP] which you have to assume will continue until at least we get our next upgrades or until the rules change.
"I still feel we can win the world championship somehow, but all these things that are happening in the next months will play into our hands."
The Canadian Grand Prix holds happy memories for Hamilton being where he secured both his first pole and victory in 2007
Hamilton was talking after qualifying fifth for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix 0.551secs slower than Vettel.
McLaren were not completely sure what had gone wrong at a circuit at which they were expecting to give Red Bull their toughest challenge of the year.
Hamilton said: "We are just very slow this weekend. It appears the other guys have maybe made a step forward.
"I pushed beyond the limit on my lap really because I knew we weren't as competitive as the guys in front.
"My lap was fantastic, it was the maximum I was able to do.
"I don't think I've ever driven the car so hard in my life, I was on such a ragged edge. I think I even touched the wall at one stage.
"I got everything I could from it, with also trying to use the tow of another car because we're so slow on the straight. We're 10km/h, maybe 12, slower on the straight so losing a couple of 10ths on the back straight. It seems the other guys have made a step forward. So it's back to the drawing board."
"We had a little bit of bad news about the car at some stage, which will undoubtedly hamper our race pace, but hopefully not too much."
He added: "We've got the wrong seventh gear here - we're very slow on the back straight. We might be a little bit slower in the race than we usually are, but I am going to be gunning as hard as I can."
The weather forecast predicts a 60% chance of rain during the race, which starts at 1800 BST on Sunday and is live on BBC One and this website for UK users.
Martin Whitmarsh
Whitmarsh wants rain
Hamilton said: "I don't mind [which weather we have]. I love a dry race here, and I think it would be great for the fans.
"However it would be great if it was dry at the start and then rains halfway through."
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he believed the team had a car with too much drag - although he was careful to avoid saying explicitly that he felt the team had run too much downforce.
"We're not as quick as we should be on the straight," Whitmarsh said. "In my view, we've got too much drag here. If it's wet tomorrow it won't be as big an issue. [Also] several cars have a more powerful DRS than us, and in qualifying that is an advantage."
The DRS is an overtaking device that boosts straightline speed. Its use is limited in the race but free in qualifying and practice.
"The set-up we have is better for wet than it is for dry," Whitmarsh said. "If we had a smaller wing we might have been trying it this afternoon. But we didn't. So I think there was a difference of opinions."
Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button, who qualified seventh, added: "I don't really know if we have more downforce than the cars in front.
"I think Red Bull have a new rear wing here that has a different DRS that is giving them better straight-line speed.
"I think the Ferrari has got another engine mode they are using for qualifying. Ferrari has a very good DRS and so do Mercedes.
"In the race it all comes back to us. We don't use DRS [as much], you don't use the engine modes some people use in qualifying.
"So we will have a much better car tomorrow compared to our competitors. I don't think we'll have more downforce, but we'll be much more competitive."
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