Hamilton looks to stretch his unbeaten run

LEWIS Hamilton will seek to stretch his lead and extend Mercedes unbeaten run to 10 races with a victory unaided by fortune at this weekend’s French Grand Prix.

The defending five-time driver’s champion, a lucky winner in Canada two weeks ago when Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was controversially penalized, won at the remote sunbaked Le Castellet track last year and is hunting his sixth win this year and the 79th of his career.

If he, or teammate Valtteri Bottas, succeeds, it will mean the Silver Arrows have won all eight contests this year after finishing last season with two triumphs. But after a testing weekend in Montreal, where Vettel claimed pole position and finished the race first, Hamilton and Mercedes are wary of any signs of complacency.

“Canada was something of a wakeup call for us,” team chief Toto Wolff said. “After a run of good reliability over the opening six races, we experienced a number of problems almost all of which were our own making.”

He said the team would learn from their problems and thanked Mercedes mechanics for their excellent work.

“We expect another tough fight in France,” he added. “The circuit features some similarities to Montreal and the long straights will present a challenge for us.

“But unlike Canada, the corner characteristics are spread across a range of speeds, which should play to our advantage. We’re looking to put a few things right again.”

Improved Ferrari

Hamilton won from pole last year and is driving with more assurance and maturity than at any time in his career, leaving even a revitalized Bottas, in the same machinery, struggling to keep pace. The Finn has won twice this year. Ferrari showed clear signs of their own awakening in Montreal where the power-hungry nature of the circuit suited their engine power, but Mercedes hope to match them and draw level with McLaren’s run of 11 successive triumphs in 1988.

The Italian team claimed victory and lodged notice of an appeal against the outcome following the race in which a five-second penalty, for the manner in which Vettel rejoined after running off across a grass strip. They later withdrew that appeal notice, but have subsequently sought a review of the stewards’ decision, citing new evidence to follow.

Hamilton goes into the race with a 29-point lead over Bottas and 62 on Vettel.

“We will have a few small evolutions,” said team chief Mattia Binotto. “It won’t be a solution to our problems, but the feedback will be important for the future.”

Max Verstappen will aim to make sure his Red Bull is in the mix at the front after finishing second last year, following a collision involving Bottas and Vettel at the start.

“I’m hoping we can be challenging them,” he said.

(AFP)