Lewis Hamilton 'in fighting spirits' as driver kicks off the F1 Canadian GP on a positive note

Lewis Hamilton was fairly upbeat after the first two practice sessions at the 2024 F1 Canadian GP. He felt that he could fight other drivers for the top spots in the Grand Prix.

Back in Monaco GP, the seven-time world champion had a mediocre race where he started from P7 and ended the Grand Prix in the same position. He was behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen and his teammate George Russell who finished P6 and P5, respectively.

In the Canadian GP, however, Lewis Hamilton felt much more comfortable with the car. In the first practice session, he clocked in 11 laps and secured P4, while in the second practice session, he drove 27 laps and secured P7.

Despite not topping the leaderboard, he was quite satisfied with the general feeling of the car. Speaking to F1.com, he stated that the Mercedes W15 was reacting well to his input, which gave him more confidence inside the cockpit. Though he is not excited for the qualifying session on Saturday (June 8) he hoped to have a good Grand Prix on Sunday (June 9).

“Honestly, it’s too early to say. I feel like I’m in fighting spirits, I feel like the car is reacting to my inputs and I feel really confident out there. But we won’t know till we get out [tomorrow]. Saturday is often a different day for us, but I’m hoping tomorrow is a good day,” Hamilton said.

“But I think in either conditions I felt really strong today, so I’m really hopeful. I do feel like we’re closer to the front this weekend,” he added.

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Lewis Hamilton on how eager he was to clock in practice laps at Canada

Lewis Hamilton explained why he was pushing the team to let him out of the pits so that he could drive as many laps as possible.

Speaking to F1.com, he stated that he wanted to use as much track time as possible, regardless of the weather conditions. He added that the updated track surface and runoff areas at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve demanded a lot of track time from the drivers so that they could gain experience.

“It felt great. I was just raring to go just every second, kept telling the guys: ‘let's get out, let's get out, let's get out.’ I was rushing my guys – ‘let’s go, let’s go’ – just to maximise time on track, whatever the conditions,” Hamilton said.

“This is a track where it’s building blocks, so it’s about just getting as much time on track and understanding both conditions and also the changes they made to the surface and also to some of the runoff areas. It was a really good session, a good day. The car was feeling strong, so I thoroughly enjoyed the session,” he went on.

Lewis Hamilton is currently eighth in the 2024 F1 drivers' championship table with 42 points. His teammate George Russell is in seventh place with 54 points.